


Twist of Fate

by Numtwelve



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Future Lemons, More tags coming, POV Multiple, Shift of story, Slight Violence, Vampires, Volturi, non main character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:47:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 101,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26802388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Numtwelve/pseuds/Numtwelve
Summary: Elizabeth Mason's plea to Carlisle that he save Edward makes an impact on him, making him think twice about letting her die only to save her son. This is how I see the Twilight Saga if Elizabeth had been turned at the same time as Edward. One major pairing change (Elizabeth Mason/Carlisle Cullen, and one in future), most are same pairings: E/B, A/J, R/E. Some future lemons. Twice a week updates, multiple POVs
Relationships: Alice Cullen/Jasper Hale, Edward Cullen/Bella Swan, Elizabeth Mason/Carlisle Cullen, Esme Cullen/Charlie Swan
Comments: 16
Kudos: 36





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my very first vampire fic! I've thought about doing this for so long, but just never had the right story to tell. Well, this all started as a result of a random thought after reading Midnight Sun. Soooo, here we go. Won't bore you, but please read on!

Carlisle 

"You must do everything in your power. What others cannot do, that is what you must do for my Edward." 

Considering how long I had been alive, I never really thought that something could surprise me as much as Elizabeth Mason’s plea. I paced in my office, her words circling in my head. She had slipped back into a deep sleep afterwards, and I used the opportunity to escape the ward. Her bright green eyes had penetrated into my mind, causing me to retreat so that I could think properly. Logically, I knew that she was gravely ill, had just lost her husband and was very distressed at the possibility of losing her son as well. But still, the way that she had fiercely gazed into my eyes made me believe that she had other worldly intuition. 

Most people are naturally cautious around me. For the last couple hundred years I had come to expect this. They didn’t know what I was, of course, but their intuition would tell them that I was dangerous. Which, of course, was true. My very nature was drawn to their blood; but I had learned a long time ago to resist the natural urges. I knew that I had wanted to help others, and that became the focus of my existence. 

Elizabeth Mason, though, she had not recoiled from my cool touch. She had not shied away from me at all; rather, she had gone up to me full speed demanding that I help her husband. And now, to help her son. She was a force of nature, and I was intrigued by her. No one had ever looked at me the way she had – with no fear. 

Of course, I knew what she was asking. Over the years I had often thought of changing someone so that I could put aside the loneliness and self-isolation. But, forcing someone into a solitary life such as mine was too difficult a choice to make. I knew the consequences of such a choice, though I really hadn’t made it for myself. 

Knowing how quickly the influenza virus could kill humans, I knew that I couldn’t pace in my office for too much longer. Staring out the small window that was above my bookcase, watching the rain hit the glass, I considered my options. The sound was soothing, as it helped to moderately drown out the moans and coughing coming from the ward outside the walls of my office. I could still hear them, of course, but it gave me something else to focus on. 

Can I really do this? What if I can’t stop? Edward was quite ill; his mother had cause for worry. Elizabeth was worse than her son, though, and I knew she wouldn’t last much longer. 

The morality of this choice weighed heavily on me as I opened the door and walked back toward the Masons. Elizabeth was still sleeping, but Edward’s eyes were on me as I approached. 

“How is my mother, doctor?” Edward asked, his voice raspy. He coughed before I could answer him. 

“She is very ill, Edward. I am doing everything I can. She is sleeping right now.” 

Edward grimaced, sitting up slightly. “I heard you talking to her earlier. She asked you to save me.” He snorted a laugh, pushing himself into another coughing fit as a result. “We both know I’m a goner.” 

“Edward, you must be strong. For her, yes, but for yourself also. I’ve seen people just as sick as you are come back from this.” 

Edward shook his head. “This is the first time I’ve had a clear head in days, doctor. I have a feeling it won’t last.” He looked up at me, fear edging into his eyes. “My mother is strong. Stronger than I am. I cannot lose her as we lost my father. Please help her first. Either I’ll die, or she will. Please don’t waste your time on me.” 

I was shocked. Both Masons were compassionate and more concerned for the other than themselves. What a wonderous family to have such thoughts of others. 

“Get some sleep, Edward. I’m going to do everything I can for both of you.” I regretted the words as soon as they came out. I sat back watching Edward lay down and close his eyes. 

I would remember today that it was Edward that had made the decision for me. I just simply couldn’t stand by and watch this family fall apart. The mere thought terrified me so much that I knew I simply had to do “all in my power” to save them. 

I stood, resigned to the fate that I had chosen. Leaving a sleeping Edward, I walked to stand next to Elizabeth’s sleeping form. Her breath was ragged. I knew that there wasn’t much time to waste. Carefully, I lifted the sheet and placed it over her head, the universal sign that she had passed on. 

The gurneys were against the far wall, so I walked over silently and wheeled it over. Carefully, so as to not jostle her too much, I lifted her, and the sheet, placing her on the gurney. Knowing that she couldn’t wake up while we made this escape, I rushed as quickly as I could toward the morgue. No one stopped me, thank goodness, as it was an extremely common sight right now. 

Once we were outside the morgue, I stopped and listened carefully. I could hear the humans upstairs but didn’t hear any close to them – or any that could intercept me between the morgue and the exit to the back alley behind the hospital. 

Moving at inhuman speeds, I picked her up and carried her through the abandoned darkened streets, toward a cabin that I maintained outside of the city. I really couldn’t delay this decision, or she wouldn’t make it. She was close to succumbing from the disease already. Once we were in the cabin, I laid her down carefully, and bit her once on her neck. 

“Dr. Cullen?” she asked, eyes opening wide and staring at me. I watched them glaze over as the venom began to travel through her system. Her eyes shut quickly, and the painful moaning started. 

Without wasting any time, or stopping to really consider my actions, I turned and ran as fast as I could back to the hospital. I had to slow several times as I passed humans on the road, and then again when I entered the building, so that no one would suspect anything. Making my way back up to the ward, I slowed when I saw Edward’s eyes on me. 

“Where is my mother?” he demanded, his green eyes angry. 

“I had to take her away, Edward. So she could heal.” 

His eyes stared into mine, and there was a moment of recognition and fear. “You came back for me?” 

I nodded, unable to formulate any words in response. Edward nodded back, and closed his eyes, slowing his breathing. I had to assume that he understood, at least on some level, so I pulled the sheet up over his head and completed the same path that I had taken with his mother. 

Once we were outside, Edward began to stir, still fully awake. “Where are you taking me doctor?” 

“Call me Carlisle, please. I’m taking you to my cabin.” 

“Is my mother there already?” 

“Yes.” 

Edward didn’t speak again until we were almost inside the cabin, once the moans his mother was making were finally audible to him. He sat up, eyes wide. 

“What did you do to her?” he asked, staring accusingly at me. 

“What I can…what’s in my power to do to save you. Save you both.” I sat Edward down next to Elizabeth, studying him for a moment and considering what I should say, before continuing. “She was too far gone to ask her, Edward, but I know that she would want me to save you both. However, you are awake so I must ask if you are willing to let me help you.” 

Edward looked from me to his mother. He stared at her for a few moments before turning his eyes back to mine with a pained expression. “She’s in pain.” 

“Yes.” 

“Will that last forever?” 

“No. A few days at most.” 

“But she will heal and live?” 

I faltered for only a moment, but Edward didn’t notice. “She will, um, live, yes.” 

Edward studied me for another moment before coughing again. He laid down next to Elizabeth, closing his eyes. I reached over and felt his forehead, realizing that his fever was higher than it had been the previous day. “Your fever is getting worse, Edward. I’m afraid you must make a decision fast.” 

“Just do whatever you can, doc-Carlisle.” Edward didn’t open his eyes, but he reached out and grabbed his mother’s hand. 

I watched Edward fall back asleep and thought about this decision again. Controlling one newborn was bound to be challenging, but I had no idea how I was going to manage them both at the same time. The memory of my newborn years was still vivid in my mind, as it wasn’t easy to forget anything since I became a vampire. The thirst would control them, which meant that I was going to struggle to keep them to my diet. 

I knew that I couldn’t just stand here staring at them; I had to make a decision. I just couldn’t separate the two, or the guilt would eat me alive. However, if I could get them far enough away from humans maybe I would stand a chance at controlling them. We only needed a year or so to learn to avoid humans. 

Decision made, I worked quickly, biting Edward twice before running outside. I ran into the countryside looking for something that I could put them both in – a wagon, cart, anything that would fit them both. 

Finally, there was a hay wagon that they would both fit into next to a quiet house in the country. It would be tight, but the venom consuming them would distract just enough so I could get them away. Bringing the wagon back to my cabin as fast as I could, I tried to avoid any houses so that I wouldn’t be noticed. Both Edward and Elizabeth were moaning and writhing in pain, and though they increased the sound of pain, they didn’t give any other indication they knew me or what I was doing. The sun would be coming up soon, so I pushed the wagon as fast as I could to get them out of the populated area. 

  



	2. The Newborns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all of you for reading my new adventure here! I hope you enjoy the second chapter; the Mason's wake up! See how Carlisle handles the two of them.

Carlisle 

  


For almost three days I was tortured by the sounds of the Masons being in pain. The moaning, writhing and screaming were almost more than I could bear. Elizabeth was quieter than Edward was, almost sensing that seeing her in pain would cause me to feel worse than I already did. Edward, though, didn’t hold back. He screamed more than he was calm while the venom worked through his body. Being a doctor, I had always strived to help humans, not to hurt them. That's why I believed this to be the purest form of torture for me. 

  


As the dawn started creeping up for the third day, they both started to calm. I could hear their hearts accelerating, indicating something was coming. We were so isolated where we were that I could easily concentrate on this sound without worry of anyone approaching. Elizabeth’s heart raced faster than Edwards, and then finally it stopped. I reached over to her first, begging for her eyes to open. I was fairly certain that I had done this correctly, but honestly, I remembered so little from my own change that I couldn’t be sure. 

  


Finally, I was rewarded with Elizabeth’s bright red eyes opening and staring up at me. Immediately, she jumped to her feet and cowered against the far wall, fear written all over her face. 

  


“Elizabeth, I’m not going to harm you. I just want to help,” I tried to say in a soothing manner, taking a small step toward her. Her instincts must tell her I'm dangerous. “I will not hurt you,” I said again, in a calm and slow voice. 

  


“Who are you?” she asked, still not getting up from the floor. 

  


“I am Carlisle Cullen. I am a doctor at the hospital you and your son were brought to a few days ago. You were both dying from the Spanish influenza.” 

  


Elizabeth stared at me for a few moments, then her eyes glassed over. She stood up carefully. “We are going to be friends. At least, I think. It's hard to tell, there are so many choices.” 

  


Confused, I took another step closer to her. “What do you mean?” 

  


She didn’t respond, rather she turned her eyes to Edward who had just opened his eyes. “Edward?” 

  


I had missed Edward waking up while my focus was on Elizabeth. Turning slowly, I looked into the stark red eyes staring at him cautiously. How am I going to handle two newborns? What if they both hate me for what I did? 

  


“Newborns? Who are you? What have you done to my mother?” Edward shouted and ran quickly over to Elizabeth. “Mother, are you, all right? Who is this man? Did he hurt you?” 

  


Elizabeth shook her head, standing up out of her crouch slowly. She regarded her son as she had me earlier. Her eyes glassed over again. “You will be fine, my son. You have options ahead of you that will be difficult to overcome. But I think I can help.” 

  


Edward shook his head, his eyes wild. “I don’t understand, what did you say? Why is my throat burning? Mother, you aren’t making any sense!” 

  


I stepped toward them again, my hands up in a defensive motion. “You both have many questions, and I will happily answer all of them. But first, you need to feed.” 

  


At those words, both of the Masons looked at me, red eyes ravenous. “Yeah, you need to hunt.” 

  


Still unsure of myself, I motioned for them to follow me out of the cabin. Letting my senses take over, I tried to locate the closest animal herd that I could lead them to. Edward was faster, though, and took off running as soon as he was outside. Elizabeth followed him after a split second, so I just started tracking them instead. It was more important for me to keep them in my eyesight than search for prey. Their instincts would help them find the animals easily enough. 

  


“Edward, search for deer, or elk. They do not taste as good, but they will calm the thirst.” I knew that he could hear me, though he was farther away than Elizabeth. Edward was leading them, so I knew that the best way to handle it was to prod him toward the right source. 

  


Soon, we came to the edge of a clearing. Edward had stopped and was crouched down, staring back at them. Elizabeth sat next to him, her hand immediately going to her throat. I approached slowly, but stayed a safe distance away. 

  


“Use your senses. Do you smell that? There is fresh blood in the clearing. Go, satisfy your thirst.” 

  


They needed no additional pushing. Elizabeth’s dress did not appear to hamper her ability to move swiftly, and she was on top of a large elk in the middle of the clearing before he could even move. Edward had run to the other side, closer to them, and taken down a deer. I could tell that I would need to hunt soon also, but I was leery of taking my eyes off of the newborns. 

  


Between the two of them, they took down four deer and two elk before they finally turned back toward me. Elizabeth’s face was a mask of calm, while Edward’s eyes glared directly into mine. 

  


“What are we? What have you done to us?” he demanded, putting his arm around his mother. He stared at me for a moment. “You...you are a vampire? You changed us to be like you!” 

  


I took a step back, trying to figure out how Edward had come to that conclusion. I put my hands out in front of me in what I hoped was a calming gesture, trying to calm Edward down. In a flash, Edward was right next to me though, his hands around my neck. 

  


“Start talking, doctor.” Edward’s face was vicious as he tightened his grip. I was too stunned to speak, but Edward kept talking without pausing. “Mother, he was lonely. He wanted companions. He turned us into monsters so he would have people to, what, talk to?” 

  


Elizabeth appeared next to them, placing her hand on Edward’s, forcing him to let go of me. “He made a choice, dear. I see that one choice he had was to let us die, he couldn’t bear that, could you, Carlisle?” 

  


Shaking my head, I took an involuntary step backward. “You both asked me to save the other, I wanted to help in any way that I could. It didn’t feel right to separate you two.” 

  


Edward shook his head. “That’s not all...” He was quiet for a moment. A look of disgust marked his face and he stared at the doctor. “You...you...” 

  


Elizabeth, once again, put her hand on Edward’s, stopping him. “Dear, do not worry about his motivations. We are what we are now, let’s try to deal with it. We have a choice to make, we can fight him and go off on our own – in which case, I do not see that we will have a good life – or we can stay, learn about what we are and let him guide us.” 

  


Edward and I looked at Elizabeth in surprise; I didn’t know a newborn could be that eloquent in their reasoning. My time with the Volturi taught me to expect anger and unbearable thirst. But, as I should have guessed, the Masons were surprising, not at all what I could have expected. 

  


“Mother, you don’t understand! He-” Edward lowered his voice, “-wants you. He thinks he is in love with you.” His attention shifted for a moment. I looked back into the clearing and saw a bear wandering in. Edward took off after it, though his thirst should have been abated by then. 

  


Elizabeth, however, stood her ground and turned her attention back to me. “I get the feeling that we will have years to discuss the ‘whys’ of this situation, but I feel that I must tell you something. I understand the options in front of me, but am not ready to make one of them. Do you understand me?” 

  


I shook my head, still trying to figure out how or why they were behaving the way that they were. There was no way Edward can know that I was falling in love with his mother. 

  


Elizabeth squinted her eyes at him, taking a small step forward. “You just lost many of them. You must have made a decision about something?” 

  


Taken aback, my mouth dropped open. “I don’t understand. What do you mean by ‘made a decision?’” 

  


Edward ran up to them again, his thirst sated again. He looked silently at his mother and then he turned his gaze to me. “I cannot get enough to drink, it’s like I'm half crazed for it!” 

  


I nodded, remembering back when I had first turned and the unnatural need I felt. Edward hissed at me, stepping in front of Elizabeth. 

  


“Stay away from her, you monster!” he shouted, pushing me away from Elizabeth. 

  


“Edward,” she murmured. “I think he’s only trying to help us. Calm, dear one.” 

  


He turned to his mother then, anger filling his eyes. “How can you say that? He turned us into monsters! And, Mother, he wants you!” 

  


I picked myself up off the forest floor, and walked cautiously over to them. I began circulating the Volturi gifts in my mind, wondering if Edward could somehow tell what I was thinking. Edward hissed again and crouched, protecting his mother as I got closer. 

  


Edward, can you hear me? I thought desperately, hoping that I had figured it out. 

  


“Of course, I can hear you, I'm right here!” he said, exasperated. 

  


But I am not speaking out loud. Look, see that my lips aren’t moving. 

  


Edward stood, slowly, his eyes still on me. “How is that possible? I can hear what you are thinking?” 

  


Elizabeth, realizing what was going on, turned to Edward and stared at him for a moment. Edward’s eyes shot to her briefly, but he kept his focus on me. The silence was almost deafening. All of the animals had escaped, knowing there was a predator nearby. To me, the silence was unnatural, but I understood why they would have escaped. Unfortunately, that left me to deal with the ramifications of this decision. 

  


I ran through the possibilities in my head: what I could say to them as an explanation, how could I try and calm Edward down, and why Elizabeth seemed so calm when she should be as all over the place as Edward was. 

  


Edward was following my thoughts, and the last comment made him glance at his mother again. She seemed to him to be just the same as she had been when she was human. He spat at the word, knowing he would never be human again. Elizabeth, however, seemed calm and under control. The only real difference was her blood red eyes. 

  


“Mother, your eyes!” 

  


“Yours too, dear. It must be normal, right Carlisle?” 

  


I took another step closer, and said, “Yes, it’s normal. The longer that you feast on animal blood, though, the more the color will shift. They will look like mine at some point. I have never done this before, though, so I’m not sure how long that will take.” 

  


Elizabeth seemed unfazed by this, and she turned her attention back to Edward. “Dear, I know you are upset right now. Just remember that Carlisle did this to save us. We asked him to do that, remember? We are together now, and we no longer have to worry about the influenza virus killing us.” 

  


Edward sat down on the ground, his head in his hands. “I can’t stop the voices. Both of you, please, stop thinking for a minute! I can’t concentrate...” His voice carried off and his head shot out of his hands. I smelled a herd of some kind of animal not far away, and before I could stop him, Edward had shot off again. 

  


I made to follow, but Elizabeth stopped me. “Let him go, he needs the quiet for a moment without our thoughts assaulting him.” 

  


I looked into her blood red eyes, and marveled at her strength again. “I am surprised at how well you are handling this, Elizabeth. You seem totally under control.” 

  


She shrugged, turning slightly to stare at the place in the forest where Edward had disappeared. “I analyzed my choices and decided that this was the easiest way to handle myself.” She looked back at me, a small smile on her face. “Though, I am still thirsty. And I believe you are also. One of the options that looks most promising for you is to feed soon. Shall we?” 

  


Before I had a chance to respond, she took off after Edward. I followed as closely as I could, but they were both faster than me right now. I was sure the Volturi had mentioned the strength of a newborn was more than a more advanced one, so I shrugged it off. 

  


After we had all hunted again, they began to walk back toward the cabin slowly. Edward kept shooting glances at me every time I thought about his mother, so I began to try and focus on other things. The smell of the forest, the color of the sunrise in the sky, and the small crunching noises their footprints were making. 

  


“Elizabeth,” I said, finally breaking their silence. “You keep talking about options and choices. What does that mean exactly?” 

  


She stopped, so Edward and I stopped as well. She sat down on a fallen tree and regarded us both with a small smirk. “When I look at you, I can see a sort of map laid out in my head. It looks like options, like if you say this, you’ll go down that path, if you decide to go here, you’ll go down that path. The possibilities are endless, but I can tell which options are most possible.” 

  


“You can predict the future?” Edward asked, staring at his mother in shock. 

  


She shook her head. “No, but I can tell what will happen if you make a specific decision.” She looked at me again for a moment. “I can also sense something from you...loneliness abandoned, maybe? You believe that Edward and I will make excellent companions and you are happy to no longer be alone.” 

  


Shaking my head, I smiled at her. Edward turned and hissed at me, but I ignored it. I am really going to have to really watch my thoughts around this boy. “I never thought I would have anyone to talk to, really talk to, about this life and anything else, honestly. Now that you are both here, I am comforted.” 

  


Edward sneered at me. “I will never be your friend, Carlisle. How can you damn us to this existence? How can you live with yourself?” 

  


But before I could answer, Elizabeth stood up and walked over to Edward. “Stop, please. If you go down this route you will only know sorrow and heartache. You must try to accept Carlisle. Or, at least, make the decision to try. I cannot see everything that will happen, I can only feel that the path you are on will lead you to heartache. Please, Edward, I do not wish that for you.” 

  


Edward nodded at her, still shooting an angry glance at me. Apparently, though, this pleased Elizabeth and they continued to walk back to the cabin. 

  


I trailed a little way behind them, controlling my thoughts about Elizabeth, but wondering, once again, if I had made the right choice. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little shift here from original story; Adding Elizabeth into the mix creates a different dynamic between Carlisle and Edward. More on that in the next couple chapters. Plan is to update one chapter a week, on a weekend day. Getting chapter 2 on Friday because I just happened to have today off. Hopefully you will all continue to enjoy my dive into the world.
> 
> Thanks again to my wonderful sister, and my beta zombified419, for their pre-reading and keeping me on track with the lore, and just listening to my thoughts!


	3. Adding to the Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I am celebrating the completion of my other story, and decided to give all of you a mid-week update. Once I have completed all of the chapters of this fic, I will shift to posting twice a week going forward. It's over half done, though, so that's something. Anyway, I'm glad that everyone is enjoying this so far. Here's the next piece of our puzzle.

Chapter 3: Adding to the Family 

  


Carlisle 

Over the next three years, Edward and Elizabeth began to settle down from the newborn urges. Elizabeth had really come into the role she played now, and didn’t seem to struggle as much as Edward did. But Edward...well, he focused on the monster within and never truly felt right in his own skin. I was thankful for Elizabeth on multiple occasions, and I found myself loving her more every day. She was a quiet and calm woman, who loved her son fiercely. She regarded me with understanding, though I was sure she didn’t feel for me what I felt for her. 

  


I had gotten better at controlling my thoughts around Edward, though. I tried to focus on the feeling of companionship and friendship, hoping that was all Edward would hear in my thoughts. However, when Elizabeth spoke to either one of us, my attention was immediately drawn to her and there were times when idle thoughts crept into my mind. One occasion a month ago was the worst, and Edward almost snapped. 

  


“Carlisle, stop it!” Edward raged, his anger igniting at a random thought I’d had. “I will kill you if you keep thinking about my mother like that!” 

  


Embarrassed, I mumbled an apology to them both. Edward’s anger, once ignited, took a while to cool. He stalked off to hunt while Elizabeth and I remained seated inside the small cabin. 

  


“Elizabeth...” I started, unsure of how to proceed. 

  


“I understand, Carlisle. I have not made my decision yet, though I can see the possibilities. Please give me more time to understand who and what I am, and to mourn my husband. I can tell that if I make a decision now that it will not end well for either of us. I must continue down the path that I am on for some time.” 

  


Though we had talked at great length about the talents of the Masons, I was always curious. “You don’t see specifics, though, do you?” 

  


She shook her head. “No, more like the, hmmm...flavor of the outcome? I’m not sure how to really put it into words, but I can tell if I choose now one way or the other that something terrible will happen. I cannot tell what, of course, but it’s the feeling behind it that I can see.” She smiled at me, reaching her hand over to mine. “I believe my choice will be clearer later. There are things that will happen soon that will bring out the need to make a choice.” 

  


“What does that mean, Elizabeth? Things that will happen soon?” 

  


She shook her head and didn’t reply. 

  


Exasperated, I stood up and began pacing. “I know that you know more than you are saying. Why can’t Edward see what you are thinking? Why has he not told me what is coming?” 

  


“Because I block him.” 

  


My head shot up. “What? How can you do that?” 

  


“One of the paths I saw for myself was to choose to ignore the futures when around my son. I see flavors of possibilities, but all he can hear from me are feelings. I can block him, to a degree, so that he cannot see all of the choices that are possible. He does not need to know everything, and honestly it would be bad if he did. 

  


“I could tell that if I showed him everything, he would be angry. Angrier than I’ve ever seen him before, so I have to hold some back.” 

  


“And you don’t tell me now because you know I cannot control all of my thoughts around him.” I had formed it as a statement, not a question, for it was clear to me what she was doing. She nodded, but didn’t comment. 

  


By the time Edward came back from the hunt, it was time for me to leave. I had started working at a small hospital in northern Ohio just a few months ago. Elizabeth could see that it was safe for her and Edward to be somewhat close to humans, though they did tend to stick to our house outside of the city just to be cautious. 

  


It hadn’t been as hard as I thought it would be to convince them to keep to animals, and so far, neither of them had slipped up. We had stayed in the Northern Territories for far longer than necessary, probably, but I was being extremely careful. 

  


I bid my goodbyes to both of them, and Elizabeth smiled. I stopped short and looked at her. Her smile was forced, almost sad. Edward had noticed also. 

  


“What is it, Mother?” He jerked his head toward me. “Did he do something?” 

  


She glanced at Edward, but her eyes focused back on me quickly. “No, dear. Everything is fine. Have a good time at work, Carlisle.” 

  


Though her voice had tried to be convincing, I knew something was going on. Unable to do anything about it, though, I made my way to the hospital. The Spanish Influenza had been squashed finally, though it had taken its toll on society. Because of the multiple waves, the general population had been devastated by the massive losses. 

  


When I got to the hospital, I kept to myself as always. I worked the night shift in the medical ward helping those who came in off the street with various injuries. Most were mild colds, fearing a return of the influenza, but most were simple scraped knees and unnamed illnesses. It was usually pretty small work. 

  


However, about halfway through my shift several men came rushing in with a makeshift gurney. I could smell the blood immediately, so I knew whoever was on the gurney was badly injured. The nurses rushed over, and I was right behind them. I barked orders to get the patient into a room, but one of the nurses looked at me, sadly. 

  


“I don’t feel a heartbeat, doctor. I think it’s too late.” She grimaced, and I tried not to roll my eyes at her – a mannerism that I had picked up from Edward - because I could hear the patient’s heart still beating. 

  


I glanced down and was immediately taken by the woman’s beautiful familiar face. I recognized her immediately as the child I had treated years ago for a broken leg. She had only been about 16 then, and while she was still young, she had grown into a beautiful woman. Due to her injuries, though, she probably wouldn’t survive much longer, as her heart was beating very lightly. Not as strong as it should be, anyway. 

  


I almost corrected the nurse, but a plan formed in my mind. What if I took this young woman, who was certainly going to die, as a partner for Edward? Maybe he would ease off of me and my feelings for his mother if he was distracted. Realizing that this plan might just work, I looked up to the nurse, and glanced to the men who had brought her in. 

  


“I’m sorry, but it appears to be too late. Let's get her down into the morgue.” The nurses all converged on the gurney, heeding my instructions. I turned to face the men. “Do you know her name?” Of course, I remembered her name, but they didn’t know that. 

  


“Esme Platt, doctor,” a young man said, stepping forward. “She was my next-door neighbor.” 

  


“I’m sorry son, I wish I could have done something to help her. Can you give me the name of her husband? I can make sure he is informed.” I hadn’t missed the wedding ring on her hand. 

  


The boy shook his head. “He died a few days ago. It was just her.” He looked up at me, his eyes wide. “I’ll tell my mother. She will know what to do. They were friends.” 

  


I nodded, not wanting to leave Esme alone for too much longer. I took my leave then, and made it down to the morgue just after the nurses had left. As silently as I could, I grabbed her and ran back home to Elizabeth and Edward. 

  


“Carlisle, what are you doing back so soon...” Edward started, but stopped as soon as he smelled the blood on Esme. His eyes were wild, but Elizabeth was standing in-between me and him, holding him back. “What is this?” 

  


“A woman I treated a few years ago. She is going to die if I don’t help her. She lost her husband a few days ago, and is close behind. Please, I need your help,” I begged Edward, trying not to make eye contact with Elizabeth. I kept my thoughts to Esme, my concern for her, embellishing how much I had actually known her. “She’s my friend, Edward. Please.” 

  


He growled at me, but stayed behind his mother. “I can’t do it! I can barely keep myself away from them on a regular basis, what makes you think I'm strong enough to stop?” 

  


I shook my head. “No, I can do it. I need you to watch her, protect her while I go back to work. Please, Edward?” 

  


It wasn’t me that won him over, though, it was Elizabeth. “Edward, look. Do you see the path forward? If we both choose this path, saving her – ultimately, she will be much happier. You, too, dear.” 

  


He nodded at me once, and I set her down on the couch in the center of the room. I leaned over her, again keeping my thoughts guarded from Edward, as I bit her on her neck twice. I stayed only a few minutes to make sure that the venom was spreading successfully, then I swept out of the room. 

  


The last thing I saw before I closed the front door was Elizabeth’s face and her sad smile. I knew I hadn’t fooled her, but I was hoping that I had fooled Edward just enough that he would help focus on Esme rather than me. 

  


I took a leave from the hospital, wanting to stay near Esme when she woke. Edward doted on her, keeping her cool, saying that he remembered the feeling of being set on fire. She moaned and twisted, writhing somewhat on the couch. Elizabeth had whisked her away into the back room, returning after cleaning her up and changing her clothes. Once the torn and bloody clothes were off of her, I ran off with them and buried them underground far away from our house. The smell of blood had been testing Edward’s patience, and there was no need to keep that distraction around him. 

  


She woke on the third day, as Elizabeth and Edward had, after a thundering heart and a final shutter. She opened her blood-red eyes and searched the room, immediately wary of the vampires standing around her. 

  


“Esme, it’s ok. We are here to help you.” Edward stepped closer to her. “No, we won’t hurt you. Please, listen. We will protect you; we are your family now. I know it’s overwhelming, but you will get used to it.” 

  


I assumed he was responding to her thoughts, because she hadn’t said one word yet. But whatever Edward was saying seemed to have a soothing effect on her. Elizabeth and I took our cues from her, and we stepped back allowing Edward to approach her slowly. She seemed to calm down as we did this, Edward being the calming influence she needed. 

  


He took her out to hunt, asking us to remain at the house, so she felt more comfortable. Elizabeth took the opportunity, once they were out of earshot, and turned on me. 

  


“I knew you would choose this path.” 

  


“And I knew you saw the possibility.” I started pacing. “What was I to do? She's my friend, Liz, I couldn’t just let her die.” 

  


She wasn’t fooled, and I knew it. She stopped my pacing, placing her hand on my shoulder. “The path you chose isn’t going to work the way you want it to. I do see them becoming close, more like brother and sister. There is no romantic love there, and I don’t even see that as a remote possibility.” She sighed, seemingly tired, sitting down on the couch. “I do not believe this is a bad thing though. I see things coming that could be good now that we have her with us. But, it’s not what you want.” 

  


Suddenly exhausted myself, I sat down next to her. “Look, Liz, I love you. I want to be with you. I cannot get past Edward, and you know that. I wanted him to have a companion, and maybe he would be better about the possibility of us.” 

  


She smiled, putting her hand on mine. “I know, Carlisle. And I believe we will have that one day. But not now. I cannot choose you right now.” 

  


“But, one day you will?” 

  


She didn’t say anything. Instead, she closed her eyes. I recognized this as her searching through the branches of the future, since she did this often. “Perhaps.” 

  


I tried not to be frustrated. I knew I would love her the moment my eyes landed on her, and I thought for sure she would return my feelings. Now that she knew how I felt, and she knew the choice was still hers, she was not giving me any information. I ran my hand through my hair and sat back in my seat, letting her hand fall away from mine. 

  


“Patience, dear. And please, trust me.” 

  


“I do trust you, Liz. It's not about trust.” 

  


She nodded, smiling sadly. “I understand. Really, I do. Let’s concentrate on getting Esme settled in her new life. We can discuss this later.” 

  


Edward and Esme came back through the door soon after that. I had moved to my favorite chair; Edward didn't like it when he saw me sitting next to Elizabeth. Esme seemed better now that she had hunted, but she still looked at Elizabeth and myself with a leery expression. 

  


Through the next few months, Edward continued to take charge over Esme’s hunting, as well as distracting her with books, tales of our lives so far, and trying to learn more about her. Every now and then my thoughts would shift to them being happy as a couple, but Edward would glare at me when I did. So, I tried to stomp that down, remembering Elizabeth’s comment. 

  


As time went on, though, I knew that Elizabeth was right. Edward and Esme were close, but nothing more than a sibling love existed between the two of them. I managed to continue to work at the hospital, not worrying too much about Esme’s development since Edward had taken control over that, with Elizabeth’s help. We were still living outside of the city, and I knew that they would keep her away from the humans. 

  


I waited until I was alone, or at the hospital, to think about Elizabeth: her quiet reserve, her strength, her beauty. She was quickly becoming the focal point in my life, everything else on the sidelines. I remember Aro talking about how different love was to a vampire, and wondered if that’s why I felt what I did. If I had found my mate. She was cautious, thinking of others more than herself, and this made me realize why she hadn’t chosen to be with me. Perhaps she did love me after all; but she wouldn’t jeopardize Edward’s happiness for her own. 

  


With that in the back of my mind, never in the forefront, I continued my life with the rest of my new family. Things would change someday; Elizabeth had seen that. I just wondered how long I would have to wait. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we have Esme! I wrote her in a very similar way (I think, anyway) to the character in the books. I just needed her to not be in love with Carlisle. In my story, that is never of question. It was always going to be him and Elizabeth Mason from the beginning. Don't despair, though, oh lovers of Esme's character...stuff is coming. I promise.
> 
> Just remember that this is primarily an Edward + Bella = Love story. Others are here, others have stories...others are not as important. Cool?
> 
> Thanks again to my sister and my amazing beta zombiefied419 for pre-reading this for me! I appreciate you both very much!!


	4. The Prodigals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone for the love for my little story! Won't waste time, more at the bottom :)

Chapter 4: The Prodigals 

  


Edward 

  


If I had known this is what my life was going to be like, I would have demanded that Carlisle kill me rather than save me. Or save my mother. I guess that I was relieved, in a small way, that we hadn’t just died in the hospital all those years ago, but having to live as a monster was really not my idea of living. 

  


Esme made things moderately more bearable. At least she wasn’t dreaming of being with my mother all the time. She was quiet, but funny – though troubled by her human life. We got along quite well, as the sister I never thought I'd have. She was never more than that, though I could hear Carlisle thinking about it now and then. I wondered what had made him so convinced that was even necessary in this new life. 

  


Perhaps it was my mother’s influence that kept him thinking about love. She was a realist, yes, but she had a soft side also. I remember how she and my father were together, and I knew how much they were in love. The Mason family was built on strong men and meek women, but my mother blew them all away with her brawniness. None of them knew what hit them when my mother came into the family. It was part of why my father loved her so much. 

  


I guess I can understand why Carlisle loved her, but that didn’t mean that I had to like it. Honestly, I wish he would just forget about it. It would make my life easier. Esme didn’t really have a deep connection with either of them. She had been hurt so badly as a human that she really didn’t remember much at all. I knew that my own human memories were muddy, like something out of a dream more than anything. They didn’t seem real. Esme suffered from this also. So, though Carlisle had said they were friends, Esme didn’t remember him. 

  


She was closer to my mother, feeling a kindred spirit in her. I loved that my mother had a friend, and me, too, if I'm being honest. But I still harbored a resentment for Carlisle. I couldn’t find it in me to befriend him as my mother kept suggesting. 

  


“We chose to stay with him and be a part of his family. You need to choose to go down the path of building a friendship with him. I see only good things on this path.” 

  


I could see the tenor of the thoughts surrounding that, but for some reason I just couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to be friends with the man who had taken my life. He would have argued that it was the Spanish Influenza that had, but I knew better. He didn’t have to make me like him. No matter how many times he thought about me accepting his offer, I knew better for that also. I knew that I hadn’t been of sound mind when I made that decision – considering I didn’t remember it at all – and I was sure that I would have said no if I had known the truth. 

  


His thoughts were pure when he thought about our ‘vegetarian’ choices. He wanted to help humans, not hurt them. This was the only way he knew how to survive without being cruel. For the last few months, I had been thinking about this choice that I had made. My mother talks, and thinks, about choices more than the average person because of her gift, and I knew how easy it was to alter the course of my life. She was good at blocking out too much, because there were times where I caught a glimmer of something only to have it cleared out of her mind immediately. 

  


I hadn’t expressed my thoughts to her at all. I knew what she would say. If I left them all, I would be unhappy. But I was already unhappy. How much worse could it really get? 

  


“You OK?” Esme asked, placing her hand on my arm. I realized, from her thoughts, that she had asked me a question that I hadn’t answered. 

  


“I’m fine. Just thinking.” 

  


“About what?” Her eyes were wide as she stared up at me. We were off on a hunting trip, just the two of us, and everything had been normal up until I started thinking about Carlisle. 

  


“About staying. Carlisle. Our whole life here.” 

  


“What do you mean, staying? What's wrong with our life?” She didn’t understand. “I know you don’t care for Carlisle much, but he seems OK to me. Honestly, I don’t really know him that well. We don’t talk that often.” 

  


“That’s because I've been keeping you away from him. It's the only way I feel like I can keep you safe.” 

  


“Is he dangerous? I don’t sense that from him at all.” 

  


If there was anything wrong with her, it was that Esme was unfailingly kind. Which really isn’t a downfall for anyone, but she did seem naïve sometimes. The truth was that I just didn’t trust Carlisle. But, ultimately, I was feeling resentful of the entire situation more than anything. 

  


“No, it’s not that,” I sighed, running my hand through my hair. “I just feel like I don’t belong in his world. I didn’t choose this; I don’t want to be here with him.” 

  


We had started to walk again, but Esme stopped. “You aren’t upset about being a vampire. You are resentful of being here with Carlisle. That's what this is about!” 

  


“Obviously.” I didn’t know what I was doing, but a plan formed in my mind. “I want to leave. He wants my mother; he can have her to himself for a while. Maybe being away from him will help me.” 

  


“I don’t want you to go. I’ll miss you.” 

  


“Who said you have to stay? Why don’t you come with me?” I looked at her with sudden surprise. “It’s perfect! We can go off on our own, get some distance, and decide what kind of life we want to have.” I grabbed her hands, staring at her smiling like an idiot. “Please, Esme? Come with me!” 

  


She looked skeptical, but smiled slowly. She nodded and threw her arms around my neck, hugging me tight. “Let’s do this!” 

  


Carlisle 

  


When Edward and Esme walked in both wearing the same serious face, I knew we were in for some kind of trouble. Elizabeth, as ever, remained stoic as they explained that they couldn’t remain with us any longer. They were going off on their own to see what kind of life they truly wanted to lead. I almost didn’t believe it, but knowing how upset Edward had been with me recently it did make sense. 

  


“Edward, dear,” Elizabeth started, once they had finished their reasons. “You know I won’t stop you. I want you to do this and get it out of your system. But,” she said, interrupting him as he began to protest. “you are to come straight back to us when you are done. When both of you are done. Do you hear me? You can go on this trip and figure out who you are and what you want to be in this new world of ours, but when you are done, you come home.” 

  


Edward looked like he had been scolded, hanging his head slightly. I knew he was fighting the urge to say that they would never come back. He loved his mother too much to do that to her. 

  


His eyes met mine; he nodded; I figured he would hear that. Edward, do what you feel is right. We aren’t going anywhere any time soon. 

  


He nodded at me again. Then he gave his mother a quick hug. He stepped back so that Esme could hug both of us, and then they ran out of the house. Elizabeth looked at me with a tight gaze, and I knew she was already missing her son. I reached out and held her hand as we listened to them running away. 

  


The next couple months were hard on both of us. I worked as much as I could, but Elizabeth was going crazy. She decided to enroll in nursing school at nearby Antioch College, opting to keep herself busy rather than stay at our home alone. She excelled, as I knew she would. Between working at the hospital and her schooling, we didn’t have much time together. I felt myself slip into a sort of depression, thinking that she may never feel for me what I felt for her. 

  


It was almost two years after Edward and Esme left before I started to see a glimmer of hope. Elizabeth had finished nursing school and had gotten a job at the same hospital I worked at. Because of the sun concern, she opted to do night shift with me. This is really what helped her get a job, because that was not a sought-after shift. We claimed to know each other, but that was all. We never wanted anyone to think anything inappropriate was happening, considering how improper it was that we lived together and were not married. 

  


On the night where the tides began to turn, I was working on a man who had seemingly been injured by an animal of some kind. He had lacerations all over one side of his body, at least one broken bone and I could smell some kind of venom on him. I wasn't sure what it was, perhaps a snake. The nursing staff was flitting around me, all except Elizabeth. She had extraordinary control, but in this case, she wasn’t breathing. She was standing on the opposite side of the patient from me, staring intently at what I was doing. 

  


“Dr. Cullen, his temperature is spiking,” one of the nurses said, lifting the thermometer out of his mouth. 

  


I shook my head. “If we aren’t careful, we are going to lose this man. Nurse, get me some aspirin and morphine. Liz, can you please start cleaning the wounds on his stomach? I need to get the one in his neck stitched immediately, or he’s going to bleed to death. We need everything disinfected as soon as possible.” Everyone just obeyed, no comments were needed. They all could tell how close this would be because of his injuries. 

  


Liz kept her eye on me, but she did as I said. I was always aware of her, but I tried to block it out. The injuries weren’t going to fix themselves, and he could die at any moment. I continued to work on him through the night, not stopping until the last of the cuts had been stitched up. We had managed to get on top of the fever, for now, but I knew that it was still possible for him to develop an infection. 

  


Liz and I were walking back, at a human pace, to our home in silence. I wondered what was going on with her as she hadn’t said anything in a long time. By the time we got back to the cabin, she was actually starting to scare me. 

  


“Look, Liz, I know something is wrong but I don’t-” I started, but she quickly cut me off. Her hand was placed delicately over my mouth forcing me to stop speaking. 

  


“It’s time now, Carlisle. I have a choice to make. This is what I have been waiting for, I just didn’t know it at the time.” She moved her hand away from my mouth. “I have been considering it, but for so long I couldn’t really think about it when Edward was here. Since he’s been gone...well, my mind has been consumed with his path forward, not mine. 

  


“I am sorry, Carlisle. I should have an answer for you right now. But what I really want to do is try. See what we can be to each other, see how it would work. I feel like if we court a while, my path will become clear. I hope that you are all right with this.” 

  


I cleared my throat, though I really didn’t need to. “Liz, I have loved you for a long time. I am willing to do whatever you want. I am patient, and I won’t push you.” 

  


She nodded. “You haven’t at all. I just felt that I owed you an explanation. Let’s hunt, shall we?” 

  


I smiled and followed her into the cabin where we changed our clothes, and then ran back out. We talked while we ran. I knew that she was an eloquent woman, strong and resourceful. But I found that she could be really funny also. We enjoyed our hunt together, laughing and playing like school children. 

  


After that, I found it was easier to be around her. I didn’t wallow in self-pity or stress about her never feeling the same for me. Instead, I was able to concentrate on truly getting to know her. Since we never slept and worked together at the hospital, we were always together. After a month of this, she sat down next to me on the couch and turned to face me, her smile brightening her face. 

  


“Yes, Carlisle,” she said, without elaborating. 

  


“Yes?” 

  


“My choice. It's yes. I see mostly good things down this path for us. A few issues here and there that have not fully formed yet, but ultimately it is a blissful existence. So, I choose yes.” 

  


My mouth clammed up, so I wasn’t able to say anything. Slowly she edged toward me and brought her mouth to mine. An explosion of smells, tastes and emotion welled up inside me. She was even more amazing than I had suspected. If she was feeling even half as much as I was there was no question as to our future happiness. 

  


I never pushed with her, but soon enough we fell into a love-filled relationship. She was indeed amazing. The strength of her love filled me daily and I never doubted my, or her, feelings. Eventually our physical relationship began, which was just as breathtaking as I expected. The only fear I had was when Edward returned. Finally, after over a year of us being together, I expressed my concerns. 

  


“What happens when Edward and Esme come back, Liz?” I asked her one day. We were laying on the bed in the bedroom. Our lovemaking seemed an indulgence that I couldn’t get enough of, especially when considering that we never tired. But she was always more pragmatic, ensuring that we didn’t spend every moment together in bed. 

  


“Nothing changes, dear. We are what we are, and Edward will have a choice to make once he gets home.” She shrugged, apparently not concerned. 

  


“But you do see him coming home?” 

  


“Eventually, yes. We will have many more years together before this happens. Edward was turned at a young age and hadn’t ever experienced the teenage reckless years as most do. He was too practical; too grown up for his own good. Esme is older, and I suspect that she will be his voice of reason, and ultimately the reason he comes back.” 

  


“Will you see when they decide to come home?” 

  


“I don't know, actually. I cannot see his options now, so I don’t know what path he has followed. I think I have to be close in proximity to someone in order to see their paths.” She shook her head. “It’s still the same options I saw before; nothing has changed.” 

  


“Tell me something, Lizzy,” I said, scooting closer to her. “What do you see of our future? Will you tell me?” 

  


She grinned at me, kissing me slowly. “I see love. And a lot of it. Edward will come around, but only after we have more in our family. And don’t ask, I can’t see specifics, you know that. But I can tell our family will grow and we will be happy. There is something on the line later, I can’t tell how far away it is, but Edward will meet immense joy in a western state. We will move there in the years to come.” 

  


“Nothing else?” I said huskily, running my hands down her already naked form. “Anything more immediate?” 

  


Her smile grew and she slipped on top of me. “Immense pleasure.” 

  


My existence was truly changed after Elizabeth and I became one. There was really just the one hold out, or I would have asked her to marry me long ago. Edward. I knew his feelings toward me, and I knew that he would be angry. He was always angry, especially when it came to me. I didn’t know how I was going to handle it when they came back. 

  


Esme 

  


I watched Edward stalk his next prey; a man who had raped many women along the eastern coast. We had been away many years already, and the only humans Edward could bring himself to kill were the ones taking other’s lives. I knew that it made him feel like he was doing good in the world, in the only form he could. I was still rather nervous about it, and never chose anyone to kill by myself. 

  


He waited until the intent was clear on the new victim, that’s when he would strike. If I was thirsty, then I joined him and we took them down together. But most nights I was quite full and opted to just stay on the sidelines watching. I knew he didn't need my help, but it made me feel better to be close by. 

  


In the years after we left Elizabeth and Carlisle, Edward and I got much closer. It was never romantic, not even close. Neither of us saw the other that way. We both had a brother/sister feeling toward the other, but even though I was younger than him – in vampire years, anyway – I felt more parental of him than anything. I worried for him, I was concerned with his well-being and I often thought about trying to convince him to head home. 

  


It wasn’t until almost ten years after we left that I finally found my opportunity. Edward had been pursuing a man who was focused on the future kidnapping, sexual assault and then murder of a young child. We were in the dark downtown area of Chicago, where people lived in slums after the stock market crash. He could hear the man’s thoughts, but we took turns watching him. This man thought about it more than he actioned anything, so it was weeks before there was an opportunity. 

  


I was watching one night while Edward was hunting – amazingly, he had opted for animal blood this time. He did seem to be leaning back to animals over humans lately – when I was taken aback by the man’s sudden change in mood. He was angry, throwing things around this tiny abandoned shack he was living in. I was too far away, trying to keep my distance, but if I wanted to hear him, I would need to go closer. 

  


I inched closer, finally hiding in the attic so that I could hear him. 

  


“What am I doing? Why am I even thinking about this?! I am a monster!” He kept repeating this over and over, muttering in a low voice. 

  


I heard Edward coming before I saw him. The attic was rickety, but it was closed off. The man couldn’t have gotten up there if he’d tried. But Edward was able to come up by jumping. 

  


“What’s going on? His thoughts are all strange,” Edward whispered at too low of a voice for the man to hear. 

  


“He keeps talking to himself. Calling himself a monster.” 

  


“He may be, but he’s still thinking about how he’s going to lure the kid away.” 

  


I was getting concerned that this wasn’t the type of criminal that Edward would normally go after, and I said as much to him. He scoffed, telling me that he was definitely a monster worthy of dying. After another couple of days, the man had finally made up his mind and created a spot in the house to hold the child. Edward said that he was thinking that he would take her that night after the family went to sleep, so whatever we did would be decided that night. 

  


Edward pulled it off without any problems, as usual. But I hung back not wanting to be involved with anything this time. Something was not right about this situation. 

  


Afterwards, Edward and I were running outside of the city, moving on again. Edward was very quiet. Usually after a kill he would explain to me all the things the man had done, but this time was different. I waited for him to open up, but when he hadn’t even opened his mouth, over an hour later, I decided to approach him. 

  


“Edward, what is it?” I asked tentatively, not wanting to upset him. 

  


“I heard it, right before I killed him. He hated what he was...what he wanted to do.” Edward stopped running and raked his hand through his hair. He looked up at me with sad eyes. “He wanted me to kill him. So that he wouldn’t do what he wanted.” 

  


I was unsure of what to say. I put my hand on his arm trying to provide him with some comfort. He shook his head, as though he was rejecting any support I was giving him. He was feeling guilty, and he didn't want me to ease that. I knew him well enough to know that, but it was against my nature to try and help him. 

  


I looked up at his bright red eyes, seeing the hurt buried within them. “Edward, you can’t always do this to yourself. We made a choice to leave, remember? You wanted to rid the earth of the horrible people, to somehow atone for...” I searched for the right word. “...what you think you are. A monster. I don’t see that in you. At all.” 

  


He half smirked at me. “You don’t see the bad in anyone, Esme. It's one of the reasons I love you so much.” He brought his arms around me, seeking his own comfort as much as mine. I wondered briefly if we would always be like this, or if someday we would find our mates. We knew other vampires who had, so it was always a hope. I loved Edward like a brother, maybe even closer than that, but I longed for more. As I know he did. 

  


I leaned back a little, looking up at him. “Let’s go home, Edward. I don’t want to live this life anymore, and I don’t think you do either.” 

  


He was silent for a moment staring at me, before looking up. “Do you think we can go back to animals, Esme?” 

  


I nodded fiercely. 

  


He laughed. “Then let’s go. The sooner we lose the terrifying red eyes the better!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of cannon-ish? Also, may have taken something from MS, too :) Anyway, I hope you enjoy! The rest of the chapters are on their way. Hoping to keep going with the twice a week posting going forward.
> 
> Thanks again to my wonderful sister and my amazing beta zombified419 for your fantastic editing skills, and for endless conversations! Love to you both!


	5. Growth of the Cullens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for not posting this yesterday, I meant to! Unfortunately, I'm a little sick and just forgot. This is a short chapter - the shortest in the story so far. It's a catch up/get us to current day chapter, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Chapter 5: Growth of the Cullens 

  


Edward 

  


I had never regretted my choice to leave Carlisle and my mother. I was happy that Esme had joined me, but I did feel extreme guilt about everything that we had done. Finding my way back to my mother did help, even if she was officially with Carlisle. 

  


Through the next few decades, I did exactly what my mother asked me to do. Or, I tried anyway. I made a solid effort to befriend the man who had made me a monster. He made it difficult for me at every turn, though. When he brought Rosalie Hale home, in hopes that I would take her as a mate – since Esme hadn’t worked out – I became almost enraged. Esme calmed me down, and Mother spoke to Carlisle, making sure he knew not to do that again. If I found my mate, I would handle it. I didn't need him to intervene. 

  


Rosalie was an absolute pain. She was snobby and vain; hearing her thoughts sometimes made me almost sick. When she found Emmett, though, and Carlisle added yet another person to our growing family, she did get a little better. But over the years it was really my Mother who had the best influence on her. She helped to guide Rose into being a better person – accepting who she is now, who she would never be, and help her be happy with Emmett. 

  


My mother was an amazing woman, and she used her gift to help others. When we were human, she would often provide advice to the women in her circle, and to any men that happened to need it also. I often wondered if our vampire gifts are just extensions, amplifications, of who we were as humans. My mother told me that I was very perceptive to people before, almost telling what they were thinking even before I got that particular gift. 

  


The first time we found the town Forks, it was my mother who identified the local tribe for what they were – shapeshifters, in the form of wolves. If it hadn’t been for her, we would have fought them right then and there. The stench coming off of them was so unpleasant that it sent all of us into an almost frenzy of ‘enemy.’ Mother stopped us and negotiated a treaty, being honest and clear with them on who we were and how we were different from others like us. We didn’t stay in the town long, but Mother was convinced we would be coming back one day. We left, moving to a remote area of Alaska for some family alone time that everyone had wanted. 

  


After many years of forced separation – Rose and Emmett were horrible to be around once his newborn years were over – we came together again and started to build another life in another city. We attended high school, and then college in order to try and blend in better. That's where Alice and Jasper found us...walking up to us as if we had all been friends for years. Alice threw her arms around me, and then hugged everyone else talking animatedly about how good it was to finally meet us. 

  


Mother and Alice hit it off immediately, and I found that she was exactly the type of sister I had always wanted. Their gifts played off each other so well that we never had any doubts in them. They played the stock market, investing in the right businesses, and within a year after they joined us, we were financially secure – and would be for years based on their investments. 

  


Mother was the driving force in our family. Everyone loved her, looked up to her and she kept us all happy and safe. Even Jasper, the most uncomfortable of all of us around humans, began to change under her influence. 

  


Throughout the years, we all watched the world around us change. Technology started to edge up, dress became more casual, and human interactions became easier. But through all of it, I was still unhappy. I was content in my life, more so than I had been when I was younger, but still unhappy. 

  


Esme and I stood on the outside of the couples in our group and wondered if we were ever destined to love as they did. Alice and Jasper were a quiet couple, loving each other without being blatant about it. Mother and Carlisle took the title ‘parents’ literally by nurturing us; but they nurtured each other as well. There were two reasons I hadn’t tried to kill Carlisle: how much my mother loved him, and how well he treated her. It warmed my heart to see just how much he loved her, even if I did object internally. Rose and Emmett – well, they were the most obvious about physical pleasure. I just avoided them. 

  


Because of the pairings, Esme and I spent most of our time together. Every now and then I would hear one of the others wonder if she and I were going to end up together, but I never said anything. I knew that it wasn’t right. She was a kind and protective older sister to me; never anything more. 

  


By the time we got to the turn of the century, I was close to despair that I would never find my mate as the others had. Esme felt very similar. We considered going off on our own again, even if to just allow the couples around us more freedom to do what they wanted, but Alice stopped us, with Mother beside her, before we did that. There was never a way to make a decision without the two of them knowing. 

  


We spent the first part of the 21st century in Alaska with the coven we had met years ago. They shared our diet, so we visited them quite often. I got along with them quite well, even though I knew that Tonya had other ideas about me. It just wasn’t meant to be. Mother had a long talk with her about choices, and paths, and she never verbalized what she was thinking. That didn’t make me feel any better, considering I could still hear her thoughts. 

  


It was when we decided to move back to Forks, Washington that my life began to change. We were living under the guise of blended family, something we had done many times. Rosalie and Jasper looked similar enough to Carlisle that we claimed they were his children – even though he didn't look old enough. Mother and Esme were sisters, Esme having just split from her husband. Emmett, Alice and I were siblings with Mother as our parent. She and Carlisle were married, blending our family. 

  


The others refused to be any less than they were, so there were always thoughts of step siblings being in relationships, and the awkwardness that came from it. They didn’t care, and I ignored it. This trip to Forks though had me back in high school for the 500th time. It really wasn’t what I wanted to do, but everyone wanted to try and stay as long as they could. So, I played the role of Freshman with Alice, the others unable to look quite as young as us being Sophomores. 

  


The droll humans around me never gave me much pause. We had Jessica who was the town gossip; I'd rather die than be inside her head. Lauren who was just a bitch, and Angela who reminded me a lot of Esme in her sweet personality - I often chose to be in her head when listening around the school. She was easier to like. The rest of them sort of blended together in a sea of humans that I really didn’t care much about. 

  


The world had changed around us so much since the time that I was a human, it almost seemed inconceivable. There were parents who were divorced, children wearing clothes that showed more skin than bathing suits did in my time, and the openness of the media to nudity in general. I tried to roll with it, but Carlisle often said that we were all stuck as who we were when we turned. If I could have blushed, I probably would have on a daily basis. 

  


Junior year is what changed everything for me. We came in one day to a buzz all over the school, even my siblings noticing. 

  


Edward, can you tell what’s going on? I’m hearing pieces of conversations that don’t make sense. Jasper asked me one day, when we were sitting at our normal lunch table. 

  


Quickly, I sought out Angela’s mind for understanding. She wasn’t thinking about that, though; she was focused on something her twin siblings had done the night before and how cute it was. So, swallowing my disgust, I jumped into Jessica’s mind. 

  


...she better not be pretty. Mike still isn’t paying as much attention to me as he should. I am the prettiest girl here, right? Of course, I'm right! But if Isabella turns out to be gorgeous maybe we can just throw her over to the Cullens. They don’t talk to anyone anyway, so she can hang out with them while I try to convince Mike just how awesome I am... 

  


I jumped out quickly, whispering, “Someone named Isabella is moving here and everyone is excited.” 

  


Alice sat down next to me, carrying a tray of food that we weren’t going to eat. “Yes, Isabella Swan, Charlie’s daughter.” 

  


Now that we understood what was going on, all of them went back to what they were thinking before. It didn’t really make any difference to us about this girl moving here. However, when we got home Mother cornered me. 

  


“You must promise me something, dear,” she said as we were running toward the woods to hunt. She had insisted that we go together, alone. 

  


“What’s that Mother?” 

  


“Next week is going to be difficult for you. I want you to promise me that you will talk to me if you are struggling. With anything. Do not run away, do not do anything that would compromise us being here. Just come and find me.” 

  


I rolled my eyes. “I’m not going anywhere, Mother. What's next week, anyway? Something happening?” 

  


In normal form, she just smirked at me. “You’ll see.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As many have asked about, yes, next chapter we meet Bella. The story so far has just been to get us to this point in the next chapter. I'll try to post it by Saturday, as long as I'm feeling up to it, that is. 
> 
> Sorry for the short chapter, but as I said in the beginning, this is the shortest of the story. Most are over 4k words...but this chapter was necessary filler to get where we wanted to be for the story to move forward.
> 
> I also want to point out that the whole point of this story is how does Elizabeth's presence change the original story? One thing that I never really liked was Rose's character. After all that time, there was never once any personal growth? 80+ years and she's still just as bitter? Well, I changed that. Elizabeth's presence helped Rose to grow and accept who she is. So, if you are expecting bitchy Rosalie, you won't get that in this story!
> 
> Also, I heard a few of you being concerned about Edward and Esme - let me assure all of you that this is an Edward + Bella story; Esme is important, as they all are, but they will NOT be together. They are close because they are the two that do not have mates. They bonded through shared loneliness, but that is all. This is NOT a cheating story, a love triangle or anything else. Excitement/adventure/romance. More to come soon - review for me!!
> 
> Thanks again to my very patient sister and my wonderful beta, zombified419, for all of their hard work. This chapter was hard for me, and honestly all of you got the 5th or 6th rewrite. I didn't want to short change the story, but the history just wasn't as key as the present was for me. Hope that makes sense!


	6. The Move

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the chapter you've all been waiting for, meet my Bella! I know you aren't reading my note here, so carry on. More at the bottom.

Chapter 6: The Move 

  


Bella 

  


I stared out the window of the airplane, frustrated with myself once again. I had made the right decision, I knew that. But watching the rain slide off the airplane window was working against my resolve. I had spent enough time in Forks, Washington when I was younger to know that the sun just didn't exist there the way it did almost anywhere else. Charlie seemed OK to come see me in Phoenix, so I insisted on that for many years. 

  


I exited the plane, pulling my jacket on. I knew I would need it when I landed, though I hadn’t when I left home. Home. What was that, anyway? Guess it wasn’t Phoenix anymore. I sighed. Maybe this was a bad idea. 

  


Charlie met me at the baggage claim. He half hugged me and welcomed me to Washington. I choked a little, hugging him back. 

  


“How’s Phil doing?” he asked, looking out over the carousel, waiting for my bags. 

  


“Good, I think. He was watching baseball on the couch when Mom took me to the airport this morning.” 

  


“Well, that’s good.” Charlie never was much of a talker. 

  


Phil was my step-dad, and a minor league baseball player. A couple months ago he had been injured during a practice game that had effectively ended his career. Or, at least, that’s what all the doctors kept saying. I had been there that night, and could still remember watching the massive stadium light falling. My mother had been in hysterics, so I had to calm her down. Honestly, I thought he was dead. I couldn’t see how he could have survived. Fortunately, the light had crashed on his leg. Any further up, and he wouldn’t have made it. I could still remember the screams from the audience, the players running and surrounding him so we couldn’t see what was going on, and the sobbing from mom as we watched helplessly, unable to get on the field. It was a horrible evening. 

  


The on-site doctor had called 911 and Phil was rushed into surgery to try and save the leg. They had succeeded, but only barely. The nerve endings had been severed, so he partially lost feeling in that leg. He would be able to walk again, but would have to use a cane. 

  


The investigation into the cause had everyone reeling. The stadium was severely behind in restoration efforts, and the foundation of the light had simply failed. Phoenix didn’t get much rain, but we had a normal flash thunderstorm the night before. It weakened the already iffy structure that was well overdue to be replaced, and the ground hadn’t held it for long. Phil was in the cross-hairs. 

  


He spent a couple weeks in the hospital, needing several surgeries in that time. Mom stayed with him most of the time, but she had to come home and take care of me. By the time he was released, she was exhausted. That was why I had made the decision to come stay with Charlie; Phil needed mom and I didn't want her to have to choose between us. 

  


Because of his surgeries, he wasn’t able to start physical therapy for a few more months. I figured that I could head back to Phoenix for college, that would give them enough time together and him time to heal. Plus, I'd be more on my own by then and Mom wouldn’t have felt like she had to take care of me as much. Seemed like the best idea at the time. So, moving to Washington was temporary; I tried to remember that as we walked out into the cold and rainy day. 

  


Charlie didn’t say much on the drive to Forks. It took us a few hours to get there, but I was fine with the silence. It helped me to get used to the sound of the rain hitting the car. A sound I wasn’t used to, but knew I would need to be in order to survive in this alien environment. 

  


By the time we got to Charlie’s house, I was drained. The flight and all the emotions in me had started to feel overwhelming. I had totally missed the truck in the driveway when we pulled up. 

  


“What do you think, Bells?” Charlie asked, as we got out of his cruiser. I hadn’t been surprised when he showed up in that thing; it was the only vehicle that he owned. He was the police chief of this tiny town, so it would have been more surprising if he had come in anything else. 

  


“Of what?” 

  


“The truck. Got it as a loaner for you. I figured you’d want your own car here, so I asked Billy down at the rez to loan me his truck for a bit. Jake isn’t old enough to drive it anyway, so I figured you could use it in the meantime.” 

  


I stared at him. That was probably the most I'd ever heard Charlie say at once. I blinked, and followed his eyes to the truck parked in the driveway. It was painfully old, maybe 50s? 60s? It didn’t matter, it gave me some kind of freedom and I was grateful for it. 

  


“Oh my gosh, Char-Dad, this is great! Thank you! And thank Billy and Jake for me, too!” I knew who Billy was, but I couldn’t place Jake. The name sounded familiar, but that was all. “I’ll find a job soon and save up for my own car,” I promised. 

  


Dad shrugged. “Jake’s only 15, so we have a year to do that. Glad you like it.” 

  


We walked in the house with my bags, me still slightly stunned about the truck. It would definitely make life easier. 

  


The rest of the night was quiet. Charlie had turned on a game, so I set out to unpack everything. It took surprisingly little time. I really didn’t have much, mostly just clothes. By the time I was done, it was close to dinner time. Charlie ordered us pizza and we ate it in front of the tv. If this was how life was going to be now, I would need more books to distract me. I couldn’t see myself just sitting around watching sports every night. 

  


I didn’t sleep well that night. Stupid rain. I kept tossing and turning hoping that it would stop, but it didn’t. By the time I finally got out of bed, Charlie was already gone for the day. He left a note telling me to have a good day at school. Yeah, right. New school in the middle of the year? Great. 

  


The high school was frighteningly small. I wasn’t used to anything like that, truthfully, but I ignored my unease and made it to the office to get my schedule. The woman behind the counter, Mrs. Cope, was pleasant enough, but I really just wanted to get out and go about my day. English, American History, Trig, Biology and PE. The classes were what I had expected. 

  


The day crawled by. I kept my head down and tried not to trip over anything, making small talk here and there. The kids seemed friendly, for the most part, but I really didn’t want to get attached to any of them. At lunch, I sat by myself at a small table toward the back. A curly-haired girl had asked me to join her table, but I shook my head and took out my Trig book, stating I needed to study as I was further behind than the class was. This was a lie, of course, but I really didn’t want to start making any friends. 

  


I noticed them in my haze of avoiding others. There were five of them, all walking in the cafeteria almost at the same time. They stood out among everyone because of simply how beautiful they were. A tall blonde, who had to be a model, holding hands with a guy who could give the Rock a run for his money. A shorter blond, who looked very uncomfortable, with his arm around a girl who would make me feel tall. Followed by the most beautiful man I'd ever seen in my life, with copper colored hair and a crooked grin aimed at one of the others. 

  


I almost asked the curly-haired girl – Jessica? – about them, but I didn’t want to walk over to her table just to do that. I shrugged and went back to my book. It didn’t really matter anyway. If I was cautious, I could manage the year and a half year with ease, and without making any attachments, so I could go back to the sun. 

  


When the bell rang, I gathered my trash and deposited it in the garbage can by the door. I walked into Biology a minute late, having gotten lost on my way there. I handed the teacher the paper Mrs. Cope had given me for all of my classes, and walked to the lab table that the teacher indicated. When I sat down, I looked up into the face of the beautiful copper haired man I'd noticed earlier. 

  


The glare on his face startled me. I wasn’t expecting it, as I really didn’t know him at all. Hell, I didn’t even know his name. But his black eyes – yes, they were black! – glared at me as though I had just killed his cat or something. I looked away and kept my head down the entire class period. Making an attachment with him wouldn’t be hard to avoid, since he clearly hated me already. 

  


Edward 

  


I couldn’t hold my breath when Mr. Molina asked me a question. But if I took in a deep gulp of air, my throat would burn like a thousand branding irons were going in at once. Never in my life as a vampire had I smelled anything so appealing. I was used to the normal burn from humans, but this one was a hundred times more powerful. 

  


My brain was circling. Whatever possessed me to come in today? Why did she even exist? As a torment to ruin my life even more than it already was? What if I just had a little taste? I scoffed under my breath, there’s no way I could keep it at just a taste. I knew fully that if I tasted her blood, given the way it called out to me, I would drain her as fast as possible. 

  


Edward! I heard Alice shout in my head. Stop! Get out of there if you can, but do not do anything to harm this girl. 

  


I couldn’t talk back to her, as she was a floor away and wouldn’t hear me. So, I held my breath and tried to think of a reason to leave the classroom. If Alice was giving me instruction that meant Mother was in on it; I had to trust them both. 

  


Finally, I raised my hand and Mr. Molina called on me. “I’m sorry, sir, but I’m not feeling well. Is it OK if I go see the nurse?” That used up all my air. The teacher waived me off, so I grabbed my things and took off as fast as I could at a human pace to get away from her. I dropped my bag in my car, along with my keys - I knew Alice would find them – and I slipped into the forest beside the school. 

  


Once I was running, I felt the shame of what I had almost done hit me like a ton of bricks. I had seriously considered killing a human in front of others! I could have ruined everything that we had built in Forks the last couple years...and so easily, too. Suddenly, I smelled someone getting closer and I realized it was my mother. I stopped running, already miles away from the school, just as she burst through the trees. 

  


“So, you met her?” she asked, sitting down on a nearby tree stump. 

  


“Is this what you were warning me about last week?” I asked, not answering the question that she already held the answer to. 

  


She nodded. “As soon as Charlie made a decision about getting her a truck, Alice saw Bella moving here.” 

  


“Isabella,” I corrected. 

  


Mother laughed. “You weren’t paying attention, dear. She corrected everyone today. She prefers Bella.” 

  


“I didn’t think I needed to. She didn’t seem to pay any attention to us; never asked any questions.” I frowned, thinking back to the first part of the day. “In fact, she didn't really talk much at all. It's like she was trying not to be friendly to anyone.” 

  


Mother shrugged. “She made the choice to move here and believes it to be temporary. Why make friends when you know it’s temporary. Right, Edward?” She eyed me, knowing that I was the exact same way. 

  


“That’s different, Mother. They are humans. Vampires and humans aren’t exactly meant to be friends.” I sighed and walked over to where she was sitting, falling next to her on the ground. I leaned my head against her leg, just as I had done when I was a child and needed comforting. “Just tell me what my choices are so we can go hunt. I can’t get her smell out of my head.” 

  


She ran her fingers through my hair, in a comforting reminder of what she had done when I was younger, and hummed. “Hmmm. You have so many open to you right now. The one that’s the most obvious is killing her. However, if you do that Alice sees horrible things in your future; all I can see is guilt and sadness enveloping you. I don’t recommend that one, dear. 

  


“But more interestingly are the options that surround you not killing her. I don’t think I should tell you them, though.” 

  


My eyes shoot up to hers and she has a smug smile. I listen to her thoughts, which are amazingly not about what we are talking about. She was thinking of last night with Carlisle, so I suppressed the urge to vomit all over her and slip out of her mind. She did that on purpose, I'm sure of it. 

  


“I don’t understand. You've always told me my choices before.” 

  


“That’s not true and you know it. I have tried to steer you to the path you should take, without actually giving you all of the options.” She smiles and pushes my head back to her leg. “There are always choices, dear, and some have ramifications that you can’t see clearly when you are making the decision. However, I can tell you that there is only one path ahead of you that makes you happier than you ever thought possible.” 

  


I thought about this for a moment. She had never led me wrong. She was the one person in the world that I trusted the most; even the rest of my family, who had my trust, wasn’t as much as her. I knew that I should just blindly follow. “But how will I know what the right path is if you won’t tell me?” 

  


“You have to have faith in me and Alice, but also in yourself. Do not harm the girl. Instead, why don’t you try getting to know her?” 

  


This made me stand up. “Mother, I cannot even breath around her without wanting to drain her,” I said, disgust edging into my voice. “How in the hell am I supposed to get to know her?” 

  


“It’s about desensitizing yourself. You need to be around her more. The more you get to know her, the less likely you are to want to hurt her. It's the same thing that we have done with humans for years; it’s no different.” 

  


I shook my head, pacing around the trees. “It’s extremely different. Her scent is like nothing I've ever smelled before. I don’t think I can hold myself back.” I looked up at her, suddenly knowing what to do. “I need to get out of here. I should leave before I hurt her and ruin everything for everyone.” 

  


I watched it play out in her head. The strand that I chose and the feeling of guilt, terror, loneliness and isolation. It was disorienting, as it always was when I read her thoughts. I fell to my knees. “Mother, please. Show me what happens if I get to know her?” 

  


She hesitated, looking into my eyes. Then, she closed her eyes and I saw it. Friendship; companionship; love beyond anything I'd ever known in my hundred and seventeen years. Passion and laughter. I closed my eyes, seeing why she was so persistent in trying to convince me to stay and go down this path. This is everything I'd wanted, and somehow this human was the cause. 

  


“It’s so beautiful,” I said, reliving the feelings I had picked up from her. 

  


She placed her hand on my cheek. “This is what I want for you, dear. What you deserve. What you have earned through a lifetime of living through the rest of us.” 

  


Opening my eyes, I asked the only question that I could think of. “How do I do this?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Bella's story is a little different from the book. In my mind, having one more person be alive could have the butterfly affect on a lot...so, stuff changed. We already know they were made for each other right? That much was always clear; so, here's my version of it.
> 
> Is the bloodlust still here? Hell yeah, that's sort of a fundamental part of the story, right? But, in my version anyway, it's something he worked hard to overcome even faster. You'll see what I mean in the next chapter. Some key things are here still, because not everything was going to be all that different.
> 
> I've been sick the last week so I'm a little behind on my chapter writing, but this is definitely getting into the 20+ chapter range already. The story keeps getting away from me with all the things I'm trying to address (or really, fix) from the original book. It's really fun being able to take the characters out for spin, honestly. I hope you are all enjoying it!
> 
> Thanks again to my betas: My sister and my best buddy zombified419! Love you both!


	7. Unexpected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading my little story! More of their interaction here, and a deviation from the original story. I hope you like it.

Chapter 7: Unexpected 

  


Bella 

  


By the next day I was still unsure of what had happened with the boy in Biology. He had left in such a hurry, I wondered if he really was just sick and that’s why he looked so angry. Maybe that’s all it was? It was really a strange situation. When I got to school the next day, I immediately looked for him. I was going to walk up to him and ask what the hell was going on. I had gone back and forth on that decision, though, because I really didn’t need any friends here. Why bother even talking to him about it? 

  


Of course, if I walked up to him and demanded to know what his problem was, I probably was not making a friend anyway. So, I resolved myself, stood up straighter, and walked over to his car that had just pulled in. He and his siblings were all getting out of the car when I approached him. 

  


“Hi, can I talk to you?” I asked him, not looking at the others though I could feel their eyes on me. 

  


He glanced at me, a small smile on his face. Well, at least he didn’t look angry any more. “Sure.” 

  


His siblings walked off and he turned his attention to me, eyes expectant. I shifted a little, losing some of my resolve as I stared into his beautiful caramel colored eyes that I could have sworn were black yesterday. “I wanted to ask you something.” 

  


“Go ahead, Bella.” He crossed his arms and leaned against his car. 

  


“Are you mad at me or something? Yesterday when I got to biology you seemed mad that I sat next to you. We don’t have to be friends or anything like that, but I'd like to know if I offended you or something. I don’t have anywhere else to sit in biology, so it’s not like I can move or something. And if we are going to sit next to each other, I don’t want to offend you or whatever.” I took a deep breath. What the hell was all of that? I just word vomited all over him! 

  


He smirked at me, shaking his head. “Ok, so that was a lot to get through. Let me piece it together. You saw me sick yesterday, and you assumed I was mad at you?” 

  


I felt my face flush, as I watched his eyes darken, he pushed back into his car a little more. There was a flash of a weird look on his face that quickly vanished. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t sure if you were sick or if I had bothered you or something.” I looked down at my feet, feeling embarrassed by approaching him. “I shouldn’t have said anything.” 

  


He chuckled. “It’s ok, Bella, really. It’s good because now I can introduce myself. I’m Edward Mason. It’s nice to meet you.” 

  


“Bella Swan, but I guess you already know that.” I looked at him, cocking my head to the side. “How did you know I go by Bella? Everyone has been calling me Isabella.” 

  


He closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them back up. “I heard you tell someone to call you Bella, so I assumed that’s what you liked to go by.” He studied me for a moment, his face looking confused. “Sorry if that offends you, I just assumed.” 

  


“No, no it’s fine. I prefer Bella, it’s ok.” What the hell is wrong with me? The beautiful boy – Edward – was staring at me again. And I wasn’t sure what was going on, what I was saying, or where I was. His eyes cleared out every damn brain cell I had. 

  


“Well, I better get going or I'm going to be late. It was nice meeting you, Bella.” Edward took off toward the school before I could even say anything in response. 

  


I walked into the school, silently chiding myself for acting like an absolute groupie. If he wasn’t offended by me before, he may be now. I just ogled him the whole damn time. I ignored waves by other kids as I walked into my first class. I couldn’t manage to be even polite right now to people, so I just avoided everyone. 

  


Through the rest of the morning, nothing else of note happened. I managed to completely avoid everyone, which worked fine for me. Lunch was me sitting in a corner again by myself, decidedly not staring over toward their table. Though I was nervous about going to biology. I hadn’t seen him since I word vomited and ogled at him, so this should be a fun hour. Maybe I could ditch? Nah, I'm not that kind of person, and I knew it. 

  


I made my way to the room, dreading the possibilities ahead of me, but when I got to the room he wasn’t sitting at the table. I had watched him and his siblings leave the cafeteria, so I assumed he would be there already. I sat down and semi-watched the door to see if he would come in. By the time the teacher came in and closed the door, I was thinking he must have ditched. 

  


“Blood typing today, everyone. Now, I’ll start by handing out...” I became sick immediately. The teacher kept talking, but I couldn’t hear him. He had said the word blood and I couldn’t think of anything past that. Edward had the right idea by skipping today. I wished that I had. 

  


As the kids around me started to bend over the desks and the blood started to flow, I felt my head get lighter. Soon, the edges of my vision were sort of white, while sounds started to become mumbled. I rested my head against the desk in front of me trying to block out everyone around me. 

  


“Isabella? Are you ok?” I heard someone ask me. 

  


“I’m...I don’t feel well.” 

  


“Mr. Molina, Isabella is sick, should she go to the nurse?” I still didn’t know who was speaking. I also didn’t care. 

  


“One every year. Sure, Mike, go ahead and get her to the nurse.” 

  


I felt a warm arm come around me, lifting me up on my feet and half carrying me out of the room. As soon as I got out, though, I struggled to get out of his grasp. I laid down on the cold cement ground, laying my head down. The cold was actually helping. 

  


“Is she ok?” I heard a familiar voice ask. 

  


“Got sick during the blood typing.” 

  


“Bella, are you ok?” The familiar voice was closer. I opened my eyes and was immediately drowning in caramel again. Edward Mason was kneeling down beside me, concern etched on his face. 

  


“I’m fine,” I said to him, already feeling silly for laying on the ground. 

  


“Let’s get you up. Come on, I'll get you to the nurse.” He lifted me up with way more ease than I expected, but unfortunately it made me sicker. 

  


“No, please, just set me down. I was feeling better on the ground.” 

  


“Edward, Mr. Molina asked me to take her to the nurse,” Mike whined. I flinched at the sound; I had forgotten he was there. 

  


“I got it, Mike. You can head back to class. I’ll take care of her.” Edward fully lifted me up and started walking down the hallway. 

  


“No, I don’t want to go to the nurse. Please, just take me outside. I just need some fresh air,” I begged him. 

  


He paused for a moment, and then swiftly turned and walked toward the front door. Once we were outside, he set me down carefully on a bench in the front of the school. He sat down next to me, sliding to the other side of the bench, giving me a wide berth. 

  


“Are you feeling any better?” 

  


“Sort of.” I was just breathing, trying to get the thought of the blood out of my head. “Why weren’t you in class?” I asked him, trying to distract myself. 

  


“It’s healthy to ditch once in a while.” 

  


“Ha! I should have ditched today.” My head was feeling clearer, finally. I looked over at him, and his eyes were on me, a confused look on his face. 

  


Edward 

  


I stared at her wondering again why her mind was so silent. I had never experienced anyone who could avoid my power before. If she was as important as my mother and Alice seemed to think she was, then it was really aggravating that I couldn’t hear her. The one person I wanted to hear the most, and she was silent to me. 

  


The color was coming back in her face, so I wasn’t going to have to rush her to Carlisle for evaluation. She must have just gotten faint when she saw the blood. I almost laughed at the irony. 

  


“What class do you have next?” 

  


She scrunched up her face. “Gym.” 

  


I smirked at her. “Maybe you should skip that class. I somehow doubt that Gym is a good idea for you right now, Bella.” 

  


“Yeah, I think I'll just go home. I am dangerous in the best of times in Gym. Feeling like this, I'd probably kill someone by mistake...and then I'd throw up or faint on them because of all the blood.” She blushed and looked down, away from my eyes. 

  


The fire in my throat surged as the blush crept through her face, but I fought it. I focused instead on how beautiful the color made her look. She was already strikingly beautiful, but when she blushed it enhanced her features. 

  


The monster inside me was calming, as the man inside me was doing the exact opposite. But I knew I had to be careful. One wrong move and I would hurt her. I shook my head, that was far off anyway. She and I barely knew each other; right now, I needed to focus on befriending her. That's what Mother said to do, right? 

  


I leaned a little closer to her, locking the monster down while I inhaled slowly. “Can I give you a ride home?” As soon as it came out of my mouth, I regretted it. I was putting myself in a questionable situation being with her. Enclosing her in my car would be horrific if I couldn’t control myself. 

  


She shook her head. “I have a car. Or, truck, I guess. I can drive.” 

  


“Will you? Can you drive?” I raised my eyebrow at her, and she frowned. 

  


“I’m fine. I can drive. I appreciate the offer, Edward Mason, but I can get myself home.” She stood up and started walking toward the parking lot, to the old beat-up truck she drove. I got up and followed behind her. 

  


“I just don’t want you passing out behind the wheel or anything. I don’t want to be responsible for you getting injured because I didn’t stop you.” I followed close behind her, trying to insist. I knew it was a bad idea to be in my car alone with her, but Mother had said her smell was something I needed to get used to. Maybe that’s how I started the process. “I’ll drive your truck and get you home safely, then I won’t worry about you.” 

  


She turned on her heel and looked at me. “How would you do that?” 

  


I rolled my eyes at her. “I can drive it too, Bella.” 

  


She still looked at me with a blank face. “Let me rephrase, why do you care?” 

  


Now would have been an excellent time to hear her thoughts. “Aren’t we becoming friends? I don’t want you to get into an accident, as I said.” 

  


She didn’t say anything, but silently handed me her key and began walking to the ancient piece of metal she called a truck. I did a victory lap in my head, before it slammed into a wall. Now I knew for sure I was going to be alone with her. I walked behind her at a human pace, circling the truck and getting in on the driver’s side. She hopped up into the seat and stared at me again. 

  


“Seat belt, Bella,” I instructed, ignoring my own. “I’m nervous already.” I started the truck and almost flinched as the loud engine turned over. She put her belt on, and I backed out slowly. If I was doing this, I was going to extend the amount of time I had with her. If I felt the monster getting worse, I'd just drive faster. Problem solved. 

  


“And you really aren’t mad at me?” 

  


I glanced at her, with what I hoped was an amused expression. “Yes, furious. That's why I wanted to help you today.” 

  


Bella looked down at her hands folded in her lap. She didn’t say anything for a few minutes, so I was again trying to figure out what was going on in her head. I noted the difference in being with her alone verses anyone else in my life. There was a quiet peace that settled around me. I could hear only my own thoughts. 

  


“I don’t really want to make any friends,” she said, surprising me. 

  


“Really? Why?” 

  


“I’m only here temporarily. Once I'm out of high school I'm moving back home. I don’t need to complicate my life with friends I know I'm going to have to leave.” 

  


I pulled off the road next to her house. Chief Swan’s car wasn’t there, so I figured we had a few minutes. I turned off the engine and shifted so I could face her, relishing in the quiet now that the truck was off. “Does that mean you don’t want to be friends with me?” 

  


The blush crept along her face again as she glanced at me. “I hadn’t planned on it. But, maybe that’s ok.” 

  


The monster reared up again as soon as the blood started to color her skin. I swallowed several times and almost closed my eyes. I didn't want her to get the wrong idea, so I fought it. Instead I stared into her chocolate colored eyes. Of all the humans I had met in my long existence, she had the most beautiful eyes. They contrasted with her pale skin dramatically, making her the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. 

  


“I’d like to be friends, Bella,” I said finally, reaching my hand toward hers. 

  


She took it, intending to shake it I think, but then something strange happened. I felt as if I had been electrocuted through her hand. It was like a soft buzzing that circled around us when our skin was connected. That hum set every nerve in my body alive in a way that hadn’t happened in years. Suddenly, I was a seventeen-year-old boy waking up from a vivid dream, or catching myself daydreaming in class to a particularly lewd scenario. 

  


If I could have blushed, I would have. Thanking whoever decided how vampire physiology worked, I enclosed my hand around hers. The hum became even more pronounced. Her eyes were wide and she looked down where we were connected. 

  


I knew it then. Mother said she was important. That to get everything I'd ever wanted I just needed to get to know her. I had seen the choice strand in her head that had led to so much for myself; but what she hadn’t said – or maybe hadn’t known – was that this human was my mate. I had seen the reaction enough in other’s heads. I had to acknowledge that’s what went through Carlisle’s when Mother and I woke up. I hadn’t wanted to admit it then, of course, but I understood now. 

  


Bella was still holding my hand, but she was staring at me. I dropped it, and smirked at her. “Friends.” 

  


She nodded, grabbing her backpack from the floor and exiting the truck. I got out slowly, still dazed from the encounter. She looked at me as I walked around toward her, depositing the keys in her hand. 

  


“How will you get back to school?” she asked, her eyes on mine. 

  


“I’ll walk.” 

  


Bella looked at the darkened sky curiously. “Really? It’s sorta cold out here.” 

  


I laughed, starting to walk away. “See you later, Bella.” 

  


I walked back to the school, continuing to inhale deeply. The more I smelled her, the easier it got; just as Mother said it would. I got to my car before school was out, so I slid in and listened to music until the bell rang. My siblings got in the car, once school was out, and they could all immediately smell her on me. I heard a barrage of questions in their heads, but Alice answered them. 

  


“Good, Edward! This is the start you both needed.” She clapped her hands. “I can’t wait to meet her!” 

  


Sometime later, once darkness had fallen, I found myself running through the woods. I told myself that I wasn’t heading anywhere specific, but as soon as I saw the house I realized. I had unconsciously been heading toward Bella’s house. I concealed myself in a tree, back a bit from the tree line so that she couldn’t see me. It was late and Charlie was watching TV. Bella was moving around in her room; getting ready for bed maybe? 

  


I listened to her heartbeat and thought back to the feeling in the car. My mate. The feeling of rightness settled over me as soon as I said that in my head. And just as suddenly, I wanted to run into the house and put my arms around her. I wanted to whisk her away and learn everything about her. What did she do in her free time? Does she like living here? Does she miss her mother? 

  


A thousand questions filled my head as I continued to listen to the beat of her heart. I closed my eyes, just listening. It was like the beating of my own soul. It represented something to me that no human heart ever had before. 

  


The ringing of her cellphone broke through my concentration. 

  


“Hello Mom,” she said, answering. 

  


“Oh, baby! I can’t wait to tell you! This is so exciting!” her mother gushed on the other end. “The team settled with Phil today. You wouldn’t believe the amount of money he’s getting because of this accident!” 

  


What a strange thing to be happy about...I moved to be a little closer; I wanted to see Bella’s face. 

  


“He got a settlement? What was it?” she asked. I got to a tree that had a semi-clear path to her bedroom window. I watched her sit down on her bed, concern etched on her face. 

  


“Baby, it was so much! Phil and I have been talking, and since he won’t be able to play ball again – and the settlement is so much that I won’t have to work again – we decided to go on the road.” 

  


“Go on the road? What, like a band?” 

  


“No, silly. We are buying an RV! Just like I always wanted, baby. We are going to just travel all over America. I want to see everything this country has to offer...then, maybe we will head down to South America or Canada!” 

  


Bella’s mother continued to ramble, but I could see worry settle over her face. The mother may be happy about this, but Bella most definitely was not. She let her talk, though, not interrupting. I had a feeling this was normal behavior for those two. 

  


“I’m going to send Charlie some money for you, sweetie. I want you to use it to buy a decent car. And you can save the rest for college, ok?” 

  


“Sure, Mom. Thanks.” Bella didn’t sound like she believed her. Maybe there was a history of broken promises? 

  


Her mother talked on for another 30 minutes, but Bella’s responses were short. She kept them to “hmm?” and “ok” or “that’s cool.” I was becoming worried about her, though. The more she listened to her mother, the more agitated she got. 

  


“Are you going with Charlie to La Push tomorrow like you planned?” her mother asked, pulling my attention back to their conversation. 

  


“Yeah, I guess. I don’t really have anything else to do.” 

  


She was going to be surrounded by the wolves? No, I had to stop this somehow. What could I do? How could I get her to stay away from them? I was feeling panicked when I heard a familiar voice in my head. 

  


Why don’t you just take a breath? Let’s figure it out together. 

  


“Esme,” I whispered, feeling better already. 

  


She jumped to land on the tree next to me, smiling. “You finally find someone, and she’s a human. Edward, I swear you seek out trouble wherever you go.” 

  


I huffed a laugh. “Believe me, if I could have chosen...” I looked at her, but didn’t finish my sentence. She knew anyway. 

  


She nodded. “I know. I've often thought that would have been so simple, right? We have always been close.” She scrunched up her nose. “But the reality of it is, thinking about being with you in any other way than this makes me sicker than smelling human food.” 

  


I laughed silently at her. “Exactly.” I leaned over and placed my arm around her. “Thank you for coming. How can I fix this? She is upset about her mother, doesn’t want to go tomorrow, and I don’t want her to either.” 

  


Esme looked at me. “Do you have her cell number? Maybe you could just ask her out?” 

  


I shook my head. “It’s way too soon for that. She'd be concerned, probably.” 

  


Esme rolled her eyes. “Edward, welcome to 2018. You are thinking of a time that is long gone. Now, women ask men. And sometimes it’s after only knowing them for minutes.” 

  


“I know, Esme. But I don’t want to ruin this. I can’t rush into something she isn’t ready for. She didn’t even want to make friends here.” 

  


Esme leaned her head against my shoulder, covering my eyes with her hand as she saw Bella about to change for bed. “Maybe you just need to ride the wave of this relationship. You guys are going to be closer; Alice has seen it. 

  


“In the meantime, Edward. Give the girl some damn privacy when she’s changing!” 

  


I laughed, turning away until Esme told me I could turn back. She left shortly after that. I stayed there all night just listening to Bella’s heartbeat. By morning, I was completely and utterly in love with the sound. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some changes here. No, he doesn’t go in her room until she asks him to. Some manners were definitely established with my Edward. I hope that this helps you to understand the difference I’m building here. His mother’s presence definitely helped him to grow and mature differently. 
> 
> Thanks to my betas: my wonderful sister and my amazing beta, zombified419.


	8. Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I think you guys are liking the story! Thank you so much for your kind reviews and reads, my friends. We get further into the story here. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 8: Beginning 

  


Edward 

  


I was on edge the entire day when Bella was on the reservation. Alice had been trying to check her future, but we realized that the reservation was a total blank to her. Her and Mother had to calm my panic quickly because I had made up my mind to break the treaty just to make sure she was ok causing my future to disappeared. After a couple hours, they decided to go hunt – so that they could talk about me, I knew – so I was left alone in the house. 

  


I was wandering around the house, desperate for a distraction, when I heard Carlisle’s car in the driveway. He had been working at the hospital and was coming home from his shift. Since the rest of the family had left to get a break from the “Edward-drama show” as Alice put it, I was almost happy to hear him. 

  


“Good morning, Edward,” Carlisle said, walking into the house. He set his bag down next to the door, and hesitated, looking at me carefully. “Are you all right?” 

  


I ran my hand through my hair, considering carefully my next words. Carlisle knew what it was like to have found his mate and not be able to be with her right away. Sheepishly, I realized that I was the majority of the problem there. “Carlisle, I... can we talk?” 

  


“Of course. What can I do for you, son?” 

  


I immediately tramped down the frustration at him using that word. Mother used it, and over the years he had caught on to it also. I let myself breathe, listening to his thoughts. There was nothing malicious at all. 

  


“I fear I owe you an apology,” I started, pushing against the wall I was leaning against, walking toward him. “I didn’t know what it felt like to want to be with someone this much and not be able to. Our situations are different, but it’s the same feeling I imagine. I want to say that I’m sorry for making you feel this way.” 

  


Carlisle’s mind went blank as he registered my words. He shifted a little, taking a step closer to me. “Let’s go for a run?” 

  


I nodded, following him out the front door. He lost his doctor’s jacket at the front door, and took off running once he was outside. I was faster than him, but I didn’t push myself to pass. I simply followed, joining him so we were running side by side. 

  


“I never wanted to push you to understand what I went through in the early years, Edward,” he said quietly. “But I'm glad you now realize. I never meant to hurt you; but, hopefully, now you understand that it chooses you sometimes.” 

  


“Yeah, I'm beginning to get that.” I huffed a laugh. “I don’t know what to do or how to handle this. I can’t go see her, hell she doesn’t even know! Alice can’t see her on the reservation, either, which is agitating me more.” 

  


“After you were both changed, and your mother told me that she couldn’t make the choice to be with me yet, I was devastated. It was really hard to pull back and try to just build a life for the three of us.” He stopped running when we were surrounded by forest, some ways away from the house. 

  


“I’m only now realizing how hard that must have been for you.” 

  


Carlisle smiled at me. “Are we calling a truce finally?” 

  


I looked into the eyes of the man who I had borderline hated for the entirety of my vampire life. And finally, I saw him for who he was. A hundred years later, I finally got him. He had been a lonely man who was desperate for companionship. He had made a choice to end – or, really, to save – my and my Mother’s lives, but that was the last selfish choice he had made. He loved his family, and he was happier than I ever remember him being. 

  


“Carlisle, I've never thanked you. For choosing to save my life, and my Mother’s.” I held out my hand to him as he grasped it with shock written all over his face. “Thank you for loving my Mother enough to save us both. And thank you for giving me the chance to find what I always wanted.” 

  


Bella 

  


We got back from La Push just after dinner time, so it was already dark. Meeting, or seeing again in some cases, the people on the reservation had been fun. Jacob Black and I had taken a walk by the water, and I found him to be a fun kid. He was nice and funny, but altogether way too happy of a person for me. I was still sulking thinking about everything that had happened the last couple days since I had made it to Charlie’s. 

  


But it was what he had said about Dr. Cullen that had really piqued my interest. The abnormally beautiful family had some rumors circling around them apparently. Jacob had joked and called them ‘cold ones’, which was a very strange way to describe anyone. Remembering back, though, I thought about how cold Edward’s hand had been in mine when we had decided to become friends. 

  


I unlocked my cell and started googling. Cold ones mostly brought up beer ads and a YouTube channel that had just started. However, I found one webpage that talked about cold ones as being a descriptor for the undead. 

  


Laughing at myself, I clicked away from the webpage and locked my phone again. What a crazy scenario I was building in my head. Jacob had been joking with me, right? Talking about legends of wolves and cold ones, hating each other as a natural instinct. 

  


I went to bed that night circulating the crazy thoughts. I slept better that night, though my dreams were mixed up and crazy. I imagined Jacob turning into a wolf and him running to attack Edward, a cold, fang-sporting man in a beautiful meadow. I woke up with Edward’s name in my mouth – and that was just the first time I had dreamt about him. He would be a frequent visitor from then on. 

  


Sunday was unusually sunny for Forks. I made my way outside to the backyard, determined to enjoy the little sunlight that was available. I put a blanket on the grass and sat down, readying myself to read. Unfortunately, I couldn’t focus on the book in my hand. My thoughts kept going back to my dream, and what Jacob had said the day before. 

  


My thoughts about Edward were confused. He was definitely the most beautiful man I had ever seen in my life, but that couldn’t control everything. I knew that my time in Forks was limited, did I really want to get involved with anyone here? I knew that a week ago my answer would have been no, but that was before I had even seen him. Hell, I'd only been here for a few days. Not even a full week yet. 

  


Frustrated, I slammed my book closed. Why couldn’t I stop thinking about him? My phone beeping pulled me away from the inner monologue. Glancing down, I noticed that I had a text from an unknown number. 

  


Unknown: Hello Bella. Just wanted to say hi to my newest friend. 

  


Who the hell? I responded quickly, asking who this was, before setting my phone down. I went back to mulling over the situation, and the stupid dream. When the phone beeped again, I had almost forgotten about the previous text. 

  


Unknown: My apologies. This is Edward Mason. I got your number from your father earlier today. 

  


Edward had gotten my cell number from Charlie? Why? For some reason this caused me to smile, but I quickly squashed that. He was working his way into my brain, I could tell. That wasn’t ok. My eyes glazed over as I stared at my phone and his text, for a minute. Maybe it was ok? I quickly added his number into my phone. 

  


Me: Oh, ok. Sorry, I didn’t know. Hello Edward. How are you today? 

  


He responded almost immediately. Edward: I am well, thank you. What are you up to today? 

  


Me: Enjoying the sunlight while it lasts. LOL. You? 

  


Edward: Just watching TV with my siblings. 

  


Me: Why on earth would you stay inside and watch TV when outside is so pretty right now? I laughed; he was definitely strange. The fact that Forks had about two sunny days a year should make him want to take advantage of it. 

  


Edward: What if I prefer the cloudy/rainy Forks over the overly bright/sunny one? 

  


Me: Tell me you are joking LOL 

  


Edward: I’m joking, Bella. My siblings and I are actually out hiking. We are just resting for a few moments. 

  


Me: And your phone has reception out in the wilderness? Impressive cell service, Mason. 

  


When he didn’t respond right away, I decided to pick up my book. I stared at the pages but didn’t read any of it. For some reason the fact that Edward had gone to the length of getting my cell number from Charlie just so he could text me made me happy. There was something in that thought that made my stomach erupt into butterflies. He had gone out of his way to get in touch with me. A smile played on my face as my phone beeped again. 

  


Edward: When you live in the middle of nowhere, it becomes important to have excellent cell service Miss Swan. 

  


I laughed out loud at that. Me: LMAO, hilarious, sir. Enjoy hiking. 

  


I laughed again, locking my phone. Instead of picking the book back up, I decided to just stare into the woods. My brain was going hard in many directions and I acknowledged that I wasn’t really focused on the book anyway. Edward was definitely taking this whole friend thing seriously. So, I thought again to myself, maybe that was ok? Maybe it was fine to have a friend after all? 

  


Edward 

  


I put my phone down and shifted a little in the tree overlooking her backyard. She was smiling staring off into the forest the opposite direction from where I was hiding. The simple interaction had me smiling also, hoping that we were just one step closer to truly being friends now. I desperately wanted to talk to her in person, but the weather was working against me. 

  


The night before had been torture for me, though, listening to her dreams. Or, rather, listening to her talk in her sleep while she dreamt. When she said my name in a hushed voice, I was immediately hard. Once again, my seventeen-year-old brain beat the vampire monster back and took over. Her voice caused my blood to boil, bringing me to an almost fever pitch – which I hadn’t actually thought possible. 

  


As I thought about her, I wanted desperately to relieve myself, as I had had to do the previous night, but it felt wrong to do that just outside her window. I wanted to be with her; I wanted to feel her skin when she blushed. The temperature inside my body was rising quickly, but I had to stop it. Once again, I knew I would be blushing if it was possible, but I really couldn’t do anything about it. The simple fact was that no matter how hard her blood called to me, her body and her mind – everything I knew of her already – called to me even more. 

  


I listened to her conversations with her parents; I heard what she said to others at school. She was an inherently kind person, scared of making any connections in a town she knew she would only be in temporarily. The conversation with her father regarding the settlement her stepdad had gotten was sad, but sweet. She was happy for them, though she knew that made her aspirations to move home in a couple years much harder. It was clear to me that she loved with her whole heart, even if that brought her sadness. 

  


She had excellent taste in books, based on what she had brought outside with her. She was currently reading an Agatha Christie novel, a classic. A teenage girl who chose Agatha Christie over something more modern? Amazing. 

  


Through the next week I made a point to talk to her more. I walked her into school every day, chatted as much as we could in biology, and then walked her to her truck after. We were becoming friends, but I knew there was definitely something more. By Friday of that week, I asked if she wanted to hang out. She blushed when I asked, and nodded. That blush was going to kill me, I was sure of it. 

  


It wasn’t the vampire in me that wanted to see the blush. The leftover teenage hormones did. I had successfully, once again, beaten back the monster in favor of something else; something new that I couldn’t avoid. I had to see her more; I had to talk to her more. I needed her in my life, more so than anything else. 

  


We made plans for me to pick her up on Saturday morning. She said that her dad would be gone for the day fishing, so I could come over as early as I wanted. Before I could overthink anything, I sought out Carlisle for some advice. 

  


“How can I be around her so consistently without causing any problems?” I asked him, sitting down at the chair in his office at home. He and I were already well on our way to becoming friends, but the real reason I approached him now was because of how good he was at controlling himself around humans. Better than any of the rest of us, anyway. 

  


“You have already been desensitizing yourself around her, yes? By walking with her, talking to her, sitting with her in class. Being alone together won’t enhance that by too much. Keep the window rolled down in your car so you are letting in fresh air – especially if you feel your control wavering.” He stood up, grabbing his jacket, about to head in to work. “Just remember who she is to you, son. You can control yourself because you want that more than you want anything else. I believe in you. I know you can do this.” 

  


“Thank you, Carlisle,” I whispered as he walked around the side of his desk. 

  


He placed his hand on my shoulder. “I’m proud of you, Edward. Not many of our kind are able to resist the mere smell of human blood. But, their singer? Almost impossible.” 

  


I lowered my eyes. “I love her, Carlisle. I physically can’t hurt her.” 

  


“I know, son. That's why I'm so proud of you.” 

  


When I walked outside to my car, my Mother and Alice were leaning against it, smiling at me. I walked into my Mother’s embrace, hugging her fiercely. She ran her hands through my messy hair, trying to straighten it. We both knew that was a lost effort. 

  


“You can do this, dear. Alice has already seen.” 

  


“Do I want to see? Or should I be surprised?” I snorted, leaning into her hand on my cheek. Alice’s mind flashed to Bella and I in a meadow, me with my head in her lap and her running her hands through my hair while I stared up at her. A smile played on both of our faces. 

  


I smiled at my mother and then over to Alice, who’s face mirrored mine. “You see, dear? All is well. No more worrying about resisting her.” She winked at me. “At least, in that way.” 

  


I smirked at her. “Mother, don’t contribute to the delinquency of a minor.” 

  


She laughed, kissing me on the cheek. “You are hardly a minor, dear. You are over a century old.” Her face became serious. “Just be cautious and remember what Carlisle said to you. You can do this, because you want it more than your very nature. She is important, dear, and I want that future for you.” 

  


Alice hugged me next. “And please hurry up with this whole thing. I can’t wait to meet her!” 

  


Rose and Emmett came out of the house at that point, followed closely by Jasper. My brothers were both grinning, while Rose was just smirking at me in a knowing fashion, as if everything that was about to happen was all a preconceived inevitability. Once again, I marveled at how much my mother had been able to do with her; she was so different from the spoiled brat she had been when I met her. 

  


I half waved at them, kissing my mother on the cheek, and dove into my car. The next few hours would seal her fate. Was she with me for eternity, as Alice and Mother predicted, or would I lose control and end her life? Anger built up in my system as I started my car; I couldn’t lose her. Not when I was this close to the life Mother had seen for me. I felt a wave of calm wash over me, and I glanced gratefully at Jasper. He smiled and waved at me. 

  


The other concern, of course, was the fact that they were both so sure that she would be a vampire one day. The absolute horror of that revelation was really just hitting me. Until I had gotten to know here it was a mere passing thought; now I was terrified about her being sucked into this life. I knew I loved her, and I knew I would want to spend forever with her... but that didn’t mean I wanted to doom her to this life. 

  


By the time I got to her house, which was really only minutes, I was almost a nervous wreck. Being alone with her was going to feel so much different than just simply walking in the hallways of Forks High with her. But I could do this, right? That's what everyone kept telling me. 

  


I knocked on her door, patiently waiting. I heard her shuffling inside – maybe grabbing a jacket? – before walking to the door and opening it. Her scent hit me like a truck ramming into me, but instead of fighting the monster, I accepted it. I inhaled sharply, letting her distinct flavor wash over me. I invited it instead of fearing it. I had it under control. 

  


“Good morning, Bella,” I said, smiling down at her. She smiled back. “You look lovely.” 

  


She glanced down at her jeans and sweater, blushing. I fought a different monster down at that. “Uh, thanks. So, where are we going?” She closed the door behind us, locking it with her key. 

  


“I thought maybe we could do a little hiking today.” 

  


She glanced at me, biting her lip in a nervous fashion. “I don’t know if you know this about me, but I'm not exactly coordinated. Hiking with me could result in more injury than fun.” 

  


I pursed my lips together, trying not to laugh. “I promise to keep you safe.” 

  


She grumbled ‘we’ll see’ but continued to my car anyway. I opened the door for her, to which she raised an eyebrow at, before getting in and closing it behind her. I walked at the best human rate I could around the side, and got in, starting the car and speeding off toward our destination. 

  


“I wasn’t sure why you asked me out today; it’s supposed to be cloudy all day. I hope it doesn’t rain on us,” she mused, looking out the window. 

  


Alice had assured me that no rain would fall today, so I didn’t share her concern. However, not wanting to give too much away, I said, “I hope so, too. I did bring a couple extra jackets for us, though, just in case.” They were sitting in my trunk next to the picnic basket Mother had packed. She had reminded me that humans have to eat more regularly than vampires, so I had to make sure I brought food with me. 

  


We got to the hiking trail in record time. The clouds were still thick overhead, so I knew I was safe for the moment. I took out the basket of food, and the jackets, holding one up to Bella. She took it and slung it over her arm, not ready to put it on yet. 

  


We walked to the entrance of the forest and she looked curiously into the thickness, before glancing back at me. “You expect me to be able to hike this? I can’t even see!” 

  


This time I couldn’t hold my laughter. “I promised to keep you safe. Come on, scaredy-cat. Let's go.” 

  


Well, she hadn’t lied about her lack of coordination. Through the next couple hours, I watched her like a hawk, terrified that she would fall and blood would be spilled. I knew that I had fought the monster down, but in reality, I wasn’t sure what would happen if her blood was actually out in the open. The blush was hard enough to ignore. I grabbed her more times than I could count to make sure she didn’t fall. She apologized every time, and every time I told her not to worry about it. Though, she did, as she continued to walk as carefully as she could. 

  


We made it to the meadow around lunch time for her. I grabbed the blanket out of the basket, spreading it in a small clearing of brush. It was an amazing time of year to be in this meadow, as we were surrounded by green weeds and colorful flowers. Bella had a beautiful backdrop as she sat down, nestled in-between the vibrant colors. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her, though. The rest of it be damned – she was the most beautiful sight I'd ever seen. 

  


“Do you and your family hike often?” she asked, taking a sandwich that I held out to her. 

  


“As much as we can,” I answered honestly. “We enjoy being outdoors.” 

  


She looked at me curiously. “Then why would you choose to live here? It rains more often than anything else. Wouldn't you want to be surrounded by better hiking options?” 

  


I leaned back on my elbows and regarded her with a smirk. “Why do you suppose that hiking in the rain isn’t fun? Why does it have to be sunny in order to hike?” 

  


She smiled back at me. “Maybe that’s my preference.” She glanced down at her food, taking another bite. “Maybe I'm just trying to figure you out.” 

  


I raised an eyebrow. “What are you trying to figure out? Just ask me; I'll be honest.” Within reason, I added in my head. 

  


“I don’t know; it just seems strange. The first day I met you, you were angry at me-” 

  


“Because I was sick.” I added, cutting in. 

  


She rolled her eyes. “Right, because you were sick. Then, you track my dad down and get my cell number off of him. Then you start walking me to and from class.” She glanced up at me, her face curious. “I’m just trying to figure you out.” 

  


“You said that. But you also said that we could be friends. Aren't those the actions of someone trying to befriend a certain beautiful brunette who is new to town?” I asked, teasing her. Ah, the blush was back. 

  


“But I guess what I'm trying to figure out is why?” Her voice was small, like she was afraid of my answer. 

  


I leaned forward, closing the distance between us a little. I inhaled again, her smell scorching me all the way down. I closed my eyes and won against the monster again. “I’m trying to get to know you better.” 

  


“Is that all?” 

  


“What else could it be?” 

  


She blushed again. Damn that woman. She was going to kill me. “I don’t know.” 

  


I shifted a little closer to her, placing my hand on hers. The sandwich dropped into her lap as she held my hand. “Why wouldn’t I want to get to know you? You are fun and funny; and the most beautiful person I've ever seen in my life.” 

  


She huffed out a laugh, not raising her eyes to mine. “When you live with siblings like yours, I don’t understand how you can say that.” 

  


“Well, first, they are my siblings so they definitely don’t count. But second, you don’t see yourself clearly. You are so beautiful that you continue to suck the breath right out of me.” Her eyes met mine then, and I could see that my words had affected her. She shifted a little closer to me, and was leaning forward. I stared at her lips for a moment, before I pushed myself back, shoving myself to the far edge of the blanket at much greater than human speed. 

  


By the time she registered that I was gone, I was already better. A clean breath of fresh air filled my lungs, and I started to scoot back. “I’m sorry, that was terribly rude of me.” 

  


“What happened? Did I scare you?” She bit her lip again. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. You just said that wonderful thing and... I don’t know.” She looked down again. 

  


I heard Alice and Mother in my head again from earlier that day, telling me how important she was. I had chosen this; chosen her. I calmed my nerves and brought my hand to her chin, raising it so she was looking right at me. Without any hesitation, I leaned in and pressed my lips lightly to hers. 

  


And then she attacked. Sandwich all but forgotten, she launched herself at me, winding both arms around my shoulders. She pressed her lips against me, harder, and shifted so she was in my lap. I froze for a moment, overwhelmed by emotions. Fear and hunger coursed through my body. I resisted the urge to fight her, to run away from her and clear my mind. My inner teenager took over, grabbing her and pulling her to me. I kissed her again, and again...running my hands up and down her back as I basked in the unique flavor of Bella. 

  


Finally, I knew I would need to let her breathe, so I let go. I pushed back and rested my forehead against hers. Bella’s breath was coming out a little ragged, and I found that I enjoyed that immensely. Knowing that I had made her react that way made my cold heart almost beat again. 

  


“Wow,” she said, breathless. 

  


I smirked, leaning back so I could look at her. “See? I’m just getting to know you.” 

  


She smiled back, but didn’t get off my lap. Her arms were still wound around me, and her fingers idly played with the hair at the back of my neck. “So, I'm not boring or anything.” 

  


I laughed, throwing my head back. “You are the exact opposite of boring, Bella.” I leaned in, kissing her lightly. This time, she kissed lightly too rather than attacking me. Not that I had minded it before. I leaned back, looking into the chocolate eyes I loved. “But you need to eat. Finish your sandwich. We can, um, get to know each other after you eat.” 

  


She smiled and pushed off of my lap, finding the almost forgotten sandwich on the blanket. She crossed her legs, in a similar fashion to what I had seen in my mother’s mind, and resumed eating. I leaned back, laying down on the blanket, my head in her lap. 

  


“Um, I'm going to have a hard time eating with you right under my mouth. I may make you all crummy.” She laughed, running her hands through my hair. 

  


I smiled back up at her. “I’ll take my chances.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, progress between Carlisle and Edward, and some definite moves in the right direction for Edward and Bella. 
> 
> Couple things of note in this chapter. They have only known each other for about a week and a half at this point. In my story there is not months of not talking to each other, the van incident or a lot of the interactions (The Port Angeles event doesn’t happen, because Bella doesn’t get close enough to Jessica and Angela for them to invite her, right?). So far, nothing has said to Bella that Edward is extraordinary in anyway, so other than what she got from Jake, she has no reason to think of him as anything other than human. 
> 
> Also, in case you were all waiting for the classic love triangle between Edward, Jake and Bella – not in my story. Sorry, folks. Hope that’s not a deal breaker. It's not my favorite part of the original books, having never truly been a fan of Jake. And for my story, it simply wasn’t necessary at all. In fact, you’ll see that Jake is not in it much – on purpose. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you are all still enjoying the story! More to come soon! And thanks again to my two betas: my fantastic sister and my buddy zombified419! I appreciate everything you guys have done to help!


	9. Growing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank all of you for your responses! I appreciate all of you for reading this story and sticking with me. Some interesting stuff happens here, so I won’t bore you. Answers to a couple of your questions at the bottom, though, so stick with me!

Chapter 9: Growing 

  


Edward 

  


The afternoon in the meadow was probably my favorite day in all of my existence. We chatted while she ate and ran her fingers through my hair. I stole several kisses from her, continuing to keep the monster at bay. By the time we had to start heading back down, I was completely in love with her. Even more so than I had been before. My assessments on her character were totally right; she had confirmed many thoughts I'd had, but most of all when she spoke of her mother and stepfather. 

  


“I had to give them time alone, you know? Mom was so stressed out trying to make sure I had what I needed for school and everything plus taking care of Phil. It was too much for her; so, I decided to leave and live with Charl-my dad for a while.” 

  


We were walking down the mountain, hand in hand. I glanced over at her. “But now you are unhappy?” 

  


She stopped and looked at me. A smile played on her face as she scooted closer to me, kissing me lightly. “No, I'm not unhappy. Actually, I think this is the happiest I've ever been. Right now.” 

  


My thumb stroked her hand. “I’m glad. I can't remember a time when I was this happy either.” We continued to walk then, and my heart was full. Her smell didn’t even cause a problem for me anymore; now I just enjoyed it rather than craved it. “But you don’t like cloudy or rainy, right? Phoenix is the epitome of sunny.” 

  


“Yeah, that’s true. But maybe I'm ok with the cloudy and rainy after all.” She laughed. “Mom would never believe me if I told her that.” 

  


We continued to chat as we made our way down the mountain. When we got to my car, though, I started to sort of panic. It meant that my time with her was closing. I didn’t want to leave her, ever. Dropping her off at her house, and me going back to mine sounded like the worst thing ever. 

  


I heard Rose and Alice in my head, from a conversation we’d had earlier that day. They were telling me that I should be honest with her about what we are. Rose insisted that I needed to be honest to start off with, to make sure I was giving Bella a choice. That had been the hardest thing for her to accept. Through my mother’s influence she was much better, but she still had some resentment for this life we had. 

  


Alice just wanted Bella to know everything so she wouldn’t have to hold anything back. 

  


“We are going to be best friends, Edward! I need her to know everything before that happens.” She sniffed, in a terrible attempt to make me feel sorry for her. “I can't not tell her when I see a vision. She needs to know!” 

  


But still I resisted. This tiny piece of perfect that we had was too amazing to risk. What if I told her the truth and she hated me? How could I live with myself if she hated me? Internally, my mind really wasn’t at war with this decision. I simply didn’t want her to know. 

  


When I pulled into her driveway, her father’s car was absent indicating he wasn’t back from fishing yet. She glanced over at me, biting her lip again. 

  


“I don’t want you to leave yet. I don’t want the day to be over.” She looked up at me with her big eyes. I leaned in and kissed her softly, enjoying her flavor once again. 

  


“But you don't want your dad to know about me yet?” I finished for her. 

  


She shrugged, licking her lips. I couldn’t look away from them. “He would probably be fine with it; I just need to talk to him before he sees me kissing a boy in a strange car.” 

  


I smiled. “But you are going to tell him? About us?” 

  


Her eyes turned devious. “And what are we, exactly? What should I say to him?” 

  


“Maybe tell him that you have a boyfriend?” I suggested, my eyes shooting to hers. 

  


“Is that what you are?” 

  


“I would like to be. Only if you are ok with it,” I added quickly. Suddenly the nerves were back. 

  


She leaned in, running her tongue along my bottom lip. I captured her lips quickly, my hands in her hair. She leaned back, fisting my shirt. “I suppose that’s an acceptable title.” 

  


I laughed, kissing her cheek. Suddenly, I heard something in the back of my head. I turned slightly to the side, catching the beginnings of a mind I couldn’t identify. It sounded like her father, and he was getting closer. 

  


“Charlie should be back soon,” I said, kissing her swiftly. “Text me later, ok?” 

  


She smiled. “I will.” She started to get out of the car. 

  


I leaned forward, catching her hand. “And Bella? I had the best time today. Thank you.” 

  


Bella 

  


I watched from inside the house as Edward’s car zoomed away. Before I knew it, giggles started erupting from my mouth. I started half dancing in my kitchen as I remembered the whole day; I played out every time he touched me in my head, again and again. I marveled at how this beautiful man had felt; had tasted. I sat down at the kitchen table running my fingers over my lips. They felt bruised, but in the best way. 

  


I hadn’t even minded hiking, truthfully. He had kept me safe, just as he had promised. No scraped knees, stubbed toes or bruises had ensued from the day. Just a sense of overwhelming joy. The fanged and cold Edward in my dreams before was now replaced with the memories of today. Though, he was still cold. Maybe he had a circulation problem? 

  


I shrugged, not really caring. It was the best day ever, and I wasn’t going to let Jacob’s made-up horror story get into my head. I had more concerning things to deal with: how was I going to tell Charlie that I was already dating someone in town? Logically, I knew there was nothing he could do to stop me, but it was still a concern. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to keep myself away from Edward after today, because I just simply wanted to be around him all the time. Charlie was sure to notice. 

  


Before I could set out starting dinner, Charlie pulled up in the driveway. Instead of making anything, I decided to just heat up some leftover lasagna from the night before. I was pulling it out of the microwave when he walked in. “Smells good, Bells. What’d you make?” 

  


“I just heated up some of the lasagna from last night,” I replied, glancing up at him. “This has to sit for a few minutes before we eat it. Do you want to go take a shower while it cools?” 

  


“Smell that bad, huh? Sure, I'll be right back.” He laughed, setting his tackle box down near the door, and toeing off his shoes. 

  


That gave me a few minutes of reprieve to gather my thoughts. I still wasn’t really sure how to start the conversation. I worried my lip a bit more, setting the food down at the table, grabbing forks and drinks for us. By the time he came downstairs my lip hurt from me biting it. 

  


“Looks good, thanks, Bells.” He never was much of a conversationalist. 

  


“So, Dad?” 

  


“Hmm?” 

  


“I have to tell you something.” This caught his attention. He glanced up from the food, eyes on me. I rushed into the explanation, so he wouldn’t create too much in his head. “I’m sort of seeing someone from school.” 

  


“Oh? You dating someone?” His face didn’t convey how he felt about the question. 

  


“Yes, he-he's my boyfriend.” 

  


“Since when?” 

  


“Um, earlier today?” His face still hadn’t changed. 

  


“Who is it? Anyone I know?” He took another bite of his food. 

  


I rolled my eyes. “You know everyone in town, Dad. It’s Edward. Edward Mason. Dr. Cullen’s adopted son.” 

  


Then his face did change. I watched his stoic look turn into concern quickly. “Isn’t he a little too old for you?” 

  


“No, we are the same age. He’s in my class at school.” 

  


“But...” he said, then stopped. Concern etched into something I couldn’t identify. “There are some awfully bad rumors about the Cullens and Masons, kid. You sure he’s safe to be around?” 

  


Well, that wasn’t what I was expecting. “What do you mean, safe? Why wouldn’t he be? What aren't you telling me?” 

  


“Well, Billy keeps saying all these things about that family. Keeps telling me how dangerous they are.” 

  


“I don’t understand, how would they be dangerous? Are they like the Manson family or something?” I eyed him suspiciously. “And since when do you listen to rumors about other people, Dad?” 

  


He shifted a little in his seat, taking a long drink from the beer I had gotten out for him earlier. He was stalling, and we both knew it. “I don’t know, Bells. Billy seems pretty sure about it. Hell, everyone at the rez thinks the same thing. Cullens seem nice enough to me, but Billy is my best friend. I can’t just dismiss everything he says out of hand.” 

  


This wasn’t going the way I wanted at all. “Dad, Edward is really great. We spent the whole day together. He's walked me to and from class for the last week. We've talked a ton. Hell, you gave him my cell number!” 

  


He looked surprised. “No, I didn’t. I haven’t given your cell number to anyone.” 

  


I backtracked, wondering what the hell was going on. Did Edward lie to me? “Oh, I probably misunderstood that, sorry. Even still, he’s a great guy. He is nice to me. I really like him.” Well, that was the worst lie. I felt way more for him than ‘like’ at this point. 

  


He sighed. “I know I can’t make you do anything, just be careful, will you? I don’t know why Billy and the boys at the rez hate them so much, but they are sure that family is dangerous. I don’t want you to get into a situation you can’t handle, ok? Maybe don’t be alone with him until you know him a lot better.” 

  


I huffed. “I know him really well already, Dad.” 

  


He leaned forward, slightly frustrated. “How well, Bells?” 

  


“Not th-that well, Dad! We only just started dating. I’m saying I know his personality pretty well,” I stammered, shocked that he went there so quickly. What kind of girl did he think I was? Ok, well, let’s be honest here. I was so attracted to him that if it did get to that point, I would be totally fine with it. But my dad didn’t need to know that. 

  


He let it go then and went back to his dinner, but we had already surpassed uncomfortable by then. As soon as we were done eating, he made his way to the living room and I ran upstairs. I was desperate to talk to Edward. I needed to know why he lied about getting my number, and what the hell was going on with the people on the reservation. 

  


Me: Hey, so, my Dad knows about us now. 

  


His reply was almost immediate. Edward: How did that go? 

  


Me: IDK, he wasn’t really happy. He was worried. He also said that he never gave you my cell number. Should I be worried that you lied to me, Edward? I waited, holding my breath, for his response. But he didn’t text, instead he called. 

  


“I’m sorry, Bella. I should have been honest with you,” he said when I answered the phone. “I was worried you might think I was creepy.” 

  


“Well, tell me the story and I'll let you know if it’s creepy.” I leaned against the bed frame, waiting for his explanation. 

  


“My sister saw the contact information on your file at school. She gave me your number.” 

  


I smiled. “Yeah, that’s a little creepy, Edward. Why didn’t you just ask me for it?” 

  


“I didn't know how to until Monday, and I didn’t want to wait that long.” 

  


“Hmm. I guess that’s ok. I mean, yeah, it’s creepy but not too bad. I suppose I'll forgive you. But,” I stressed, cradling the phone between my shoulder and ear. “Don’t lie to me again, ok? Just tell me the truth, even if it’s not so great.” 

  


“Deal. I am sorry. I just wanted to talk to you more.” 

  


“Yeah, I guess I can understand that.” 

  


“How was the rest of the talk? Other than the cell conversation.” 

  


“Well, to be honest, he wasn’t very happy.” 

  


“Doesn’t like his little girl growing up and dating someone, huh?” He chuckled a little. 

  


“No, actually. He was more concerned with the fact that his friends at the reservation don’t like you or your family. I don’t know why, but you guys have a bad rep down there. Do you know why? Like, what happened with you guys?” 

  


He was quiet for a moment. “It’s an old feud. Years ago. The Quileute’s have long memories.” 

  


“I have no idea what that means.” I chewed my lip again. “Old feud, like the Hatfields and the McCoys or something?” 

  


“Something like that.” 

  


“Well, that’s odd. Never thought anything interesting ever happened in Forks. Guess I was wrong.” My curiosity wasn’t easily squashed, but I didn’t press. He seemed reluctant to talk about it, and I didn't want to push him. I'd already accused him of lying to me, on the same day that we decided he was my boyfriend. Best not to push my luck any more than that. 

  


“I should let you go, Bella. My mom is calling me.” 

  


“Oh, ok. Well, I'll talk to you tomorrow?” 

  


“Sure, sounds good. Night, Bella.” 

  


“Night,” I said, but he had already hung up. I shrugged and got myself ready for bed. There would be more time later to find out what the hell he was talking about. 

  


Edward 

  


I almost threw my phone when I hung up. But I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of showing anger. 

  


“Alice? Mother?” I said, knowing they could hear me. They were at my side in just a moment. 

  


Alice looked grim, her lips in a straight line. Mother just sat down next to me, putting her hand on mine. “It’s ok, dear. I can see that it will all work out. Though, we do have a complication.” 

  


My eyes shot to her. “What complication? My mate’s father believes the wolves that I am dangerous? That he doesn’t want me to see her?” 

  


“He didn’t say that, Edward, and you know it. Charlie is smart enough to know not to forbid her from seeing you,” Alice said, sitting down on the other side of me from my Mother. “Charlie is suspicious right now. Billy has said much more than he led on to Bella about us.” 

  


“What?” I stood up, staring at them. “He broke the treaty!” 

  


“He felt it was better for Charlie to know some things, but he didn’t say everything. Though the treaty is definitely in question. He was trying to keep Charlie from befriending us when we got into town. And then, once he knew Bella was coming, he chose to tell Charlie even more. He knew she would be going to school with us.” Alice hadn’t moved, though by her posture I could tell she was just as unhappy about this as I was. 

  


Mother’s eyes went blank for a moment, and I watched her mind circle around a few different branches of choices. There was one that was the best-case scenario, where we were all surprised yet happy. Content. That's the one she focused on, because it was a strand of her future we were seeing. 

  


Just as soon as Mother made a choice, I watched it play out in Alice’s head. I fell to my knees, grabbing Mother’s shoulders. “No!” 

  


She shrugged. “It’s the only way. All other paths just lead to you and Bella being separated, or worse. We have to go down this path or nothing ends well.” 

  


“I need to tell Bella first. Mother, please, you have to let me do this,” I begged her. She had to listen to me! 

  


She smiled at me. “You have until dinner time tomorrow, dear. Make sure you tell Bella what to expect. Esme and I will be over around 5 or so.” 

  


I nodded in understanding, but inside my mind was spiraling. I saw why Esme needed to be involved, but I was still more confused than ever. None of this made any sense. I fished my phone out of my pocket and texted Bella quickly, asking if we could have lunch together tomorrow. She agreed, in a fast reply, so we made plans for me to pick her up the next day. 

  


In order to clear my head, and not listen to the quiet conversation between Alice and my mother, I took off toward Bella’s house, to my customary tree. As soon as I was there, I sat down and searched for her heartbeat. I located it fairly quickly, as was my custom now, and I sunk back into the tree just listening. It was like the best lullaby in the world, and I felt sure that if I could sleep, I would have. 

  


By the next day, when it was time to go pick up Bella, I was calmer about the situation, but still not quite ready to tell her. I knew I didn’t have a choice, though. Mother was going to complete her plan no matter what I said, or didn't say, to Bella. 

  


I noticed her father’s car in the driveway when I pulled up, so I put my best pleasant face on and knocked on the door. He answered the door, and his face portrayed all of the concerns he had about me. I listened intently, but his mind was sort of muted. Almost like the TV being on, but the sound so low you can’t actually hear all of it. Like you knew there was something on, but couldn’t hear the details. Interesting. He was quiet, but his daughter was totally silent to me. 

  


“Hello Chief Swan. My name is Edward Mason. I’m here to pick up Bella.” I extended my hand to shake; I had put gloves on before I left my car, just to be safe. At least that way he wouldn’t have to wonder why my skin was so cold. 

  


He shook my hand, but I could tell he wasn’t happy about it. I hoped this plan of Mother's would work out like it had in Alice’s vision. It seemed like the only possibility of him liking me in any way. 

  


“Hello Edward. Nice to meet you.” He didn’t seem happy at all, but I let it slide. “Where are you and Bella off to?” 

  


“I thought I’d take her to Port Angeles for lunch, sir. There is this Italian restaurant that I think she would like.” I stood my ground, looking at him eye to eye. He didn’t back down either. 

  


Normally, humans shied away from us. They usually didn’t know why, but they never really trusted us. Our very nature screamed predator to their base instincts, so they kept their distance. However, when you are trying to date one of their daughters, I guess the parental instinct to protect was stronger. 

  


Bella came into the room and looked between us. I saw her roll her eyes, and she grabbed my arm, pulling me toward my car. 

  


“Bye, Dad! I’ll be back later.” 

  


“Be careful, Bells,” he said as he took a step out onto the patio, continuing to watch us. I opened the door for her, which caused another eye roll, before heading over to my door. 

  


After we left, I breathed a sigh of relief. “You weren’t kidding. He doesn’t like me at all, does he?” 

  


“He’ll get over it.” Bella shifted in her seat so she could look at me. “And who cares if he doesn’t, right? I’ll be 18 soon. It's not like he could really do anything to stop me from seeing you.” 

  


“You would defy your father to continue seeing me?” I asked her, smiling. 

  


“Hell yes I would.” 

  


I took my hand off the steering wheel, placing it on hers that was sitting in her lap. I left it there for the rest of our drive. She was focused on me, and didn’t notice how fast I was going. I had slowed down, though, because I didn’t want to scare her. Going 80 seemed like crawling, but it was better than over a hundred like normal. 

  


When we got to the restaurant, she didn’t wait for me to open her door. Rather, she got out and started walking up without waiting for me. I huffed a laugh, and just followed. The hostess seated us in the back part of the restaurant where it was pretty empty. This early on a Sunday, people were probably at home, sleeping in, at church, or whatever. It was the perfect place to have a strange conversation. 

  


The waitress came up to us once we were seated and got our drink order. Having no idea what to order, I waited to see what Bella wanted; then I would order the same thing she got. We went back to looking at our menus, though Bella had a strange look on her face. I put my menu down and looked at her, questioningly. 

  


“What is it?” 

  


“Nothing,” she snorted, glancing at me before going back to the menu. Then she mumbled, “Pretty sure what the waitress wants isn’t on the menu.” 

  


I stopped myself from laughing, as I was fairly sure Bella hadn’t expected me to hear that. I honed in on the waitress in the back, and Bella was right. She was giving them all exaggerated details about my looks, almost fanning herself. I rolled my eyes and went back to the menu. 

  


“You two ready to order? Or do you need a few minutes?” The waitress had appeared next to the table. She was looking directly at me, batting her eyelashes. 

  


“I’ll have the mushroom ravioli,” Bella said, breaking her out of the staring contest she had with me. 

  


“I’ll have the same,” I told her, grinning hugely before grabbing Bella’s menu and giving them to the waitress. I shifted my chair so it was closer to Bella, and I reached out and kissed her softly. “I’ve been wanting to do that since I picked you up. I didn’t think the Chief would be too happy with me if I had though.” 

  


I heard the waitress become angry at my show, and I almost smiled in satisfaction. That's the exact response I wanted. But I kept my face passive, as I really did have something I needed to talk to her about. 

  


“You shouldn’t do that, you know,” Bella chided me. 

  


“Do what?” 

  


“Dazzle people. You may have given her a heart attack, just before her heart broke when you kissed me. Cruel.” She snickered, though. 

  


I leaned a little closer to her, our noses almost touching. “Do I dazzle you?” 

  


She smirked and kissed me quickly. “Frequently.” 

  


I shifted back in my seat, chuckling. “So, Bella,” I began, right as she said, “Um, Edward?” I held my hand out to her. “You go first.” 

  


“So, um, I was talking to this kid, Jacob...” she said, glancing down at the table. 

  


“Is he from Pheonix?” I asked, drawing a blank. I couldn’t think of anyone named Jacob at school. 

  


She shook her head. “No, Jacob Black. Billy’s son? The one who lives on the Quileute reservation?” 

  


“Oh.” I really didn’t know what else to say. 

  


“I wanted to ask you about something. I'm sorry if this is rude, but something he said made me curious.” 

  


“You can ask me anything, Bella.” 

  


“Jacob said...well, he said that you and your family were dangerous. That's what his dad believes, anyway. Though, Jake didn’t really seem to believe it, he was more like passing along information.” She shifted, and I waited. She hadn’t actually asked me a question yet. “So, I was wondering about something he said. He said the legends say that you and your family are dangerous, because you are ‘cold ones.’” She used air quotes. 

  


I sucked in a breath. Jacob, probably without knowing it, had just killed our treaty as much as his father had. I kept my face passive, waiting for her question. 

  


“Anyway, I thought that was sort of odd, but I know your skin is always cold. Well, I thought at first maybe it was just circulation, but that seemed weird because your lips and even your breath are cold.” 

  


I leaned forward, not touching her this time. “What is your question, Bella?” 

  


She blushed, looking away toward the kitchen doors. She paused for a minute, and then looked back. “I was thinking that every single person on the reservation hates you and your entire family. You said it was an old feud, which seems really strange to me. My question is, will you tell me the truth about why they hate you guys so much?” 

  


I had given her this. I told her to ask me anything, and I would be honest. I had promised not to lie to her. I heard the waitress getting our food together, though, so I held up my finger. She didn’t say anything, but I did notice that her eyes were wide when the food was set down in front of us. Once the waitress had gone, I leaned toward her again. 

  


“Bella, I promise I will tell you the truth. But please just listen with an open mind, ok? Don't make any judgments about me or my family until you hear all of it ok?” 

  


She nodded; her eyes still wide. But she leaned forward, putting her hand on mine before I could speak. “It doesn’t matter to me. You know that, right? I don’t care what the truth is, I-I'm still going to feel the same about you.” She looked down. “I just want to know, is all. If I'm defending you or your family, I want to know what I'm defending.” 

  


“I understand, Bella. You eat, and I'll talk. Deal?” She nodded, taking a bite of her food, dropping her hand from mine. I took a deep breath. “Your friend Jacob is right. Me and my family are the ‘cold ones’ from his legend.” 

  


She stopped chewing to stare at me. So, I continued, “It’s not as bad as they say, though. We don’t hunt humans,” I said the word as a whisper. “We live with them in order to keep what’s left of our humanity, I suppose.” 

  


She scanned my face quickly. “Undead?” 

  


I nodded. “There are legends all over the world about undead, you know. We come in many forms; I suppose you could say. Jacob’s tribe met us years ago when we were first in the area. They called us cold ones, based on someone like us who had attacked their village years ago. I was not lying when I said there was a long history – a feud – between us. I just didn’t go into full details. 

  


“Jacob’s tribe is interesting; I've never met anything like them before. One of my kind attacked their village many years ago, and the chief and his son turned. They are a type of shifter species, and they just happen to take the shape of a wolf. They are a vampire’s natural enemy.” 

  


“Vampire?” she whispered. Again, I nodded. This time, I couldn’t meet her eyes. “But not a dangerous one.” 

  


I leaned forward. “I am very dangerous, I assure you. We all are.” 

  


She shook her head, leaning toward me, too. “Not dangerous to me. Jacob said you were dangerous to the wild life. Not to us. But he said his father and all of the village leaders were still scared of you regardless.” 

  


“Jacob is very well informed,” I stated simply. She still wasn’t freaking out, though the wide-eyes look seemed to be frozen on her face. “You don’t seem that surprised by what I'm saying to you.” 

  


“I already told you,” she said, taking another bite and chewing it. “It doesn’t matter. Whatever you were going to say doesn’t make any difference in how I feel about you.” 

  


My mate was an incredible woman. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, the truth is out, so to speak. I know that many of you were wondering how Esme would play into the story, and I promise it’s coming. We will get more to the point in the next chapter. 
> 
> I’m celebrating today because I have basically finished this story. I’m currently in edit mode now, so the chapter count may change, but for now it’s set at 25 chapters with an epilogue. During the edits, I may end up expanding the story a little, but we’ll see. 
> 
> So, yes, the deviation from the story is fairly clear in this chapter also. I liked the idea that Bella had a thought about what he was, but there wasn’t any real proof in my story to lead her down the path. Writing in Jake telling her about the legends was her only clue, so it needed to be Edward who told her. And, he only told her because of his mother and Alice. You’ll see why in the next chapter. 
> 
> Though I am posting this early, I will still continue to stick to my twice a week chapter updates: Wednesday and Saturday. You just get an extra chapter this week because I am so happy to have finished the first drafts of all the chapters! I hope you enjoy! 
> 
> One question that has come up a lot was if Esme would get a HEA – absolutely. I love her character, and I wrote in some good stuff coming up for her. Just remember the deviations we have already taken from canon as you continue to read the remaining chapters. I hope you all enjoy where I took it. 
> 
> Thanks again to my pre-reading sister, and my amazing beta zombified419, for all of your support for this story. I appreciate the chats about plot, and encouragement when I got stuck.


	10. Truths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, first, the elephant in the room. I know that there are issues with FF updating the website right now (in fact, I am not able to see any traffic at all though I have a couple reviews. If you are reading this story on FF, please download the app. That is working and updating chapters. It’s less buggy, too. But if you are reading this note, you are probably there already lol. Anyway, sorry for the confusion! Hoping it will be fixed soon. 
> 
> Now as to this chapter...well, you will either love it or hate it. My beta readers loved it, but never know how it will be taken by all of you. Meet me at the bottom!

Chapter 10: Truths 

  


Bella 

  


Boy, did I have some things to work through in my head. I listened as Edward told me about his family through dinner. It didn’t escape my notice, either, that he hadn’t touched his food. He pushed it around a little bit, to make it look like he was eating. But I knew better. 

  


I displayed calm on the outside, but in truth I was in turmoil. Jacob had been clear about their lifestyle, and how they hadn’t harmed humans. Their mantra was to live with us – us! – but not to hurt us. Edward had confirmed that, but I was still reeling. I knew I felt more for him than I cared to admit; could I manage this? Could I really accept him for what he truly was? 

  


I stared into his caramel-colored eyes and immediately thought YES. But I really did need to think about it for more than a second. And I needed to be alone to do that. 

  


“So, after Alice and Jasper found us, we have lived together in some form since then. We will take different last names now and then, but ultimately that’s it.” 

  


“Elizabeth is your real mother then? Not adopted?” 

  


He nodded. “Carlisle turned us both at the same time. He...” Edward faltered for a moment, but continued. “He loves her. Loved her. He couldn’t turn her without saving me; he knew that would cause problems, plus she had begged him to save my life. He was stricken by our love for each other, so he couldn’t separate us.” 

  


“When was that, exactly?” I couldn’t help my curiosity. 

  


He didn’t meet my eyes. “I was born in 1901 in Chicago. I died, or whatever you want to call it, in 1918 during the Spanish Influenza pandemic.” 

  


I really didn’t have anything to say to that, so I finished my meal. Edward left a hundred-dollar bill on the table, not waiting for the waitress to come back. We left shortly after that, my mind still circulating all of the information. 

  


Edward was quiet during the drive. I stared out the window, trying to figure out what to say to lessen the silence. Everything in my head was such a jumbled mess, though. I wasn’t really sure what to say, so I just kept quiet. 

  


“I’m sorry if I scared you,” he said quietly, breaking the silence. 

  


I turned to look at him. “You didn’t scare me. I knew you were different. Tonight, I just learned the truth. It's still your truth, Edward, so I'm ok. I just need to settle it all in my head.” 

  


“What do you need to settle?” He glanced at me; his face concerned. 

  


I turned my attention back out the windows. “I know that what I feel for you hasn’t changed. I understand why you didn’t tell me, too.” 

  


“But?” 

  


I shifted in my seat toward him, right as he pulled into my driveway. He killed the engine and shifted so that his position matched mine. “There is no but, Edward.” 

  


“You said you need to settle things. What things?” His face conveyed nothing but concern. 

  


“Settle my brain. Clear it out and get rid of it. So, I don't stew on any of this information; I just accept what is.” 

  


His face whipped to the side. “Damn, I lost track of time.” 

  


“What do you mean?” I glanced at my phone. It was just before 5pm. “We aren’t late. I don’t think Charlie will care when you got me home. As long as it’s not past 10 or something.” 

  


He turned back to me. “I left out the most important thing. My mother is on her way over with Esme. They are going to tell your father what we are.” 

  


I didn’t move. “I don’t understand.” 

  


He ran his hand through his hair. “I didn’t tell you the most important thing of all. Some of us have certain, um, powers I guess you could call them. My brother Jasper can feel emotions – not just feel them, but encourage them. My sister Alice has visions of the future. I can hear people’s thoughts. My mother, though, her gift compliments Alice’s in a way we never thought possible. She can see the strands of decisions that are available to people. She can tell you what emotion lays beyond a decision. If you chose this, then you will be sad, if you chose that, you will be happy, that sort of thing. 

  


“Mother scans the branches of choice for people, and advises which one they should take. Once they make a decision, Alice has a vision and sees a visual of the outcome. And because I can read minds, I can watch both sides unfold.” 

  


I really had nothing to say now. Though I was sure my mouth was hanging wide open at this information. I tore my eyes away from his in time to see a silver car park right behind us. I gaped at it, seeing two beautiful women in the car. 

  


I literally had zero time to process what he told me, as he was already opening my door helping me out. The women walked up to me, both smiling. 

  


“Bella,” the one with light brown hair said, coming up and hugging me. “It’s so wonderful to finally meet you. I’m Esme.” She leaned back studying my shocked face, turning to glare at Edward. “You didn’t tell her?” 

  


“No, I told her everything. Some of it she knew already,” he said, coming to my side. 

  


I was overwhelmed again. But this time my brain just froze. I couldn’t think or say anything to any of them. The other one – Elizabeth, I was guessing, based on how much Edward looked like her – came over to me and put her arms around me next. 

  


“I’m so happy you two found each other, dear. Truly.” She leaned back and smiled at me. The current story was that Esme was her sister, they really didn’t look alike at all. But there was zero doubt that she was Edward’s mother. 

  


I closed my eyes for a moment, locking all of the weirdness in a box in my mind. I opened my eyes and smiled at her. “Mrs. Cullen, it’s so wonderful to meet you. Thank you for keeping Edward safe for me all these years.” 

  


Her smile was huge as she brought her arms around me again. “Thank you for saying that, dear. Just love him like he always deserved, and you and I will get along just fine.” She leaned back and studied me. “I knew this would work out. I could tell you would be ok when Edward told you. But we also need to tell your father. Esme and I are here to tell him everything Edward just said to you. I know you don’t understand why, yet, but I need you to understand this is important for everyone’s future. Are you ok with this?” 

  


I knew that Edward had explained her gift, but I was still stunned into silence. I just nodded. Edward came up to me then while Esme and Elizabeth moved toward the door. Charlie was standing in the door way watching the exchange, a look of confusion on his face. 

  


“It’s ok, love. I promise. Come inside and we’ll chat with your father. You don’t have to say anything, Mother and Esme will handle everything.” 

  


I stared up into his eyes and forgot everything for a moment. I pushed up on my feet and kissed him softly. “As long as we are together, I know you are right.” 

  


He smiled down at me. “Thank you for that. I wasn’t sure if you would still want to kiss me after...well, after learning what I truly am.” 

  


“Talk more later, ok? Let’s go deal with Charlie.” 

  


Esme 

  


Elizabeth and I made our way up to the door. I saw a man standing in the doorway, but I wasn’t really focusing on him. I was still reliving the conversation that I’d had with Alice and Liz earlier. 

  


“You have to go with her,” Alice said, eyes intently on mine. 

  


“I don’t understand why,” I said back, looking between the two of them. “I know that you guys can see things that others can’t, I get that. But I've never even met Charlie Swan. Why would my presence mean anything?” 

  


Liz shook her head. “We can’t tell you everything, Esme. Just please understand we need you to be there. Everything we are about to go through hinges on that. It's the right choice, I know it.” 

  


They had never steered me wrong, and I knew I could trust their judgement about the choices. Liz always knew the right outcome, and Alice could always follow the choices Liz made and see the full outcome. I nodded, acknowledging that I would come as well. 

  


Elizabeth greeted him first, but I kept my head down until I was introduced. I didn’t want to overwhelm the poor man. I knew how humans saw us: too beautiful to be real. He was bound to get nervous or scared if we were too obvious about everything. 

  


“Hello Chief. My name is Elizabeth Masen-Cullen. I believe you met my Edward earlier today? We wanted to stop by and introduce ourselves officially; I know you’ve already met my husband, Carlisle.” Liz was so good at this. She could charm anyone into being comfortable. It was part of what made her such a good nurse. 

  


“Hello Mrs. Masen-Cullen,” Charlie had said. I saw from behind Liz that he stepped back in a tacit agreement to let us in. I still hadn’t looked into his face. 

  


“Liz, please,” she said, stepping inside. 

  


As I got to the door, his smell hit me. It was mixture of...what, I didn’t know. But it was heady and had my brain jumping into overdrive. I looked up into the chocolate brown eyes of the man standing in front of me and I lost all coherent thought. He appeared to be tongue tied as well, just staring down at me. 

  


For a moment we just stared at each other. I scanned his face and memorized every line, every groove and every hair. He was beautiful. He stared back at me like he felt the same way, and for some reason I couldn’t step away from him. 

  


“Esme, shake his hand,” Edward prompted me, whispering at a low rate so the humans couldn’t hear. 

  


I held my hand out as if being controlled by something other than myself. “Hello, Chief Swan. I’m Esme Pl-Masen,” I said, almost forgetting the name I was going by this time. I had almost given him my real last name. 

  


His hand shot out toward mine; as soon as we touched the world sort of disappeared. I stared at him, and he stared back. “Hello, Esme. Please call me Charlie.” 

  


Once again, I started to drown in his eyes. I had absolutely no awareness of what was around me, or who. It was Bella who brought me back to reality. 

  


“Dad, let her go. Jeez. Can we all get inside now?” 

  


Turning away from him was the exact opposite of what I wanted to do, but I did anyway. I caught the smile on Liz’s face as I turned to face her, walking into the house again. I growled softly at her, which only made her grin bigger. She and I sat down on the small couch in the living room, as Charlie made his way to the recliner to the far side. I inhaled deep as he walked by me, just to get his scent in my head again. 

  


Edward and Bella brought in two chairs from the kitchen, sitting down to the side. We all sat there for a few minutes, Charlie’s eyes on me, before Liz began. 

  


“We wanted to come over and chat with you for a little bit Charlie. I hope that’s ok.” It wasn’t a question, and she didn’t give him time to respond anyway. “I know that you expressed your concerns to Bella about her dating Edward, and I know that you have been told some things about us. I want to clear the air and talk frankly with each other. 

  


“I’m sorry that Carlisle couldn’t be here. He's at work, but he gave me his blessing to be here. The whole family did.” She leaned toward him, and he finally broke off eye-contact with me. “You see, Charlie, we are a family. We may not all be related by blood, but we all love each other. We look out for each other.” 

  


He nodded, his eyes shooting back to me for a moment. He settled back looking at Liz, finally understanding why we were here, or at least what we had to say. “Billy says some things about you and your lot. Says that you are dangerous. And a few other things, if I'm being honest. I want to know the truth.” 

  


Liz nodded. “Tell me what you know, Charlie, and I'll confirm or deny whatever you have heard already. It may be easier to start off that way.” 

  


And they were off. Charlie talked about Quileute legends, wolves and cold ones, and on and on. I wasn’t listening. I was staring intently at the amazing man listening without comment as Liz confirmed everything he knew already. It was probably an hour later before I broke out of my spell; it hadn’t mattered to me. None of it. I didn't care what he knew, or what she said. I only cared about him. What was like? Did he read books, or watch TV? Does he like living in Forks? What was his favorite color? What was his favorite sport? 

  


I simply itched to learn everything about him. I wanted to pull him aside, away from all of this mess, and ask him everything. I wanted to stay here and learn about him until I had the knowledge of everything he was in my head. I wanted to touch his face and see if it was as soft as it looked. I wanted to run my hands through his hair... 

  


“Esme!” Edward admonished in-humanly quiet, and I glanced at him apologetically. 

  


“I’m sorry, I don’t know how to handle this,” I admitted, knowing that Bella and Charlie couldn’t hear me. 

  


“Charlie, I know that we’ve given you a lot to think about. Do you have any questions for us? Or do you want us to go so you can think over everything you have learned already?” 

  


My eyes shot to Liz. I didn’t want to leave! We just got here! 

  


Charlie’s eyes shot back to mine. “Just give me a minute, will you?” 

  


“Of course.” Liz stood up, motioning for Edward and Bella to come. I held back, and she smiled and nodded to me. Bella shot me a strange look, but stood up and walked with them into the kitchen. 

  


I slowly stood up, following Charlie’s path. He was standing next to the back door staring out into the forest beyond the grass. He didn’t say anything as I approached. I wanted to reach out and touch him, but I wasn’t sure if my touch was welcome. 

  


After all these years of watching the others be happy with their mates, and I was no better off than Edward. I found mine, but he was in front of me vulnerable and breakable. He was close, but never close enough. And he had no idea what was going through my head, because I physically couldn’t tell him. 

  


“It’s beautiful here,” he said quietly. 

  


“It is.” I almost slammed my hand across my face. How eloquent, Esme, seriously. “You have a lovely home, Charlie.” 

  


He shifted so he was looking at me. His eyes scanned over my face, settling on my eyes. “You have lovely eyes, Esme.” 

  


I stared up at him, smiling. I’m going for it. No chance in failure, right? Liz said I needed to be here. “Can I help you understand anything, Charlie? I’d like to get to know you better, but I want to make sure you fully understand everything.” 

  


He looked uncomfortable for a minute, but didn’t look away from me. “I thought Billy had it wrong,” he muttered, looking back out the window. “I figured he was a crazy old man, scared by some dumb legends. But I saw how everyone else reacted at the mere mention of you guys, and I started to wonder if I was the crazy old man.” He shifted again so that he was leaning against the door, eyes back on mine. “You don’t hurt people?” 

  


I shook my head, unable to speak again. 

  


“And you don’t want to?” 

  


I huffed a laugh, breaking out of my trance. “Depends on your definition. We don’t technically want to, no, but it’s against our very nature. It is a struggle some days.” 

  


“But you resist it?” 

  


I nodded. 

  


“Why?” 

  


It was a simple question. But there was no simple way to explain it. I searched for the right words. “Many of us were not given a choice in what we are. None of us are inherently bad, Charlie. We don’t want to be the monsters that the myth writers always portrayed us to be. That the others of our kind are. We want to do our best by the people near us, the humans, and just live. Be. Be what we are without harming those around us.” 

  


His scent infiltrated my mind again as he sighed. He ran his hand over his face in a mannerism that portrayed exhaustion. “I don’t really know how to handle all of this. I guess even though I was sort of believing what Billy was saying, I still didn’t quite think there was magic or mystical whatever in the world.” 

  


I nodded again. “That’s totally fair, Charlie. It's a lot to take in at once. I’m sorry that we sort of ambushed you. We thought you should know.” 

  


His eyes met mine. “Why did you think I needed to know this? Why did you come over to tell me something that...like this?” 

  


I glanced toward the kitchen, meeting Liz’s eyes. She nodded to me and slipped back into the space where Edward and Bella were waiting. “Edward and Bella are...important to each other. Far more than we originally thought. We didn’t want you to be unaware of what was happening.” 

  


I left out the part that I was already half in love with him. Just from a few words. I couldn’t stop thinking about all the questions I had for him. But I didn’t vocalize them now; he was already overwhelmed. 

  


“Important to each other? What does that mean exactly?” 

  


“Esme, just tell him. It's ok.” I heard Liz whisper from the other room. 

  


“Our kind is different from humans,” I started, unsure of how to put this eloquently. “When we find the person we are supposed to be with, we don’t give them up. We don’t change much after we turn into what we are; we are sort of stuck for the remainder of our days, however long that may be.” 

  


“And, Edward and Bella...?” 

  


“Yes, Charlie. It's not something that is fleeting, or something that can be ignored. You are important to Bella, which makes you important to us. Does that make sense?” 

  


He huffed a laugh again. “No, not really.” 

  


I grinned up at him. “Again, that’s fair. It's a lot to take in, isn’t it?” 

  


Liz walked back into the room. “Well, we should be going. I left our cell numbers on a piece of paper in the kitchen if you do have any questions.” 

  


I stared at her. How could she even think of leaving right now? I couldn’t just walk away from him while he was feeling like this! 

  


Edward came in and stood next to Liz. “Chief Swan, is it ok if Bella comes back home with us? I promise she will be safe. We can just give you some time to process everything.” 

  


Charlie’s eyes shot from Edward to Liz, and settled on me. “Bells, are you ok with that?” he called, without breaking my gaze. 

  


Bella stood next to Edward. “Yeah, Dad.” 

  


“Ok, be back no later than ten, ok? And, Elizabeth?” He called, turning his gaze to Liz. “Promise me she will be safe.” 

  


“I promise, Charlie. We would never do anything to hurt her.” 

  


They started to make their way out, but I was trapped in a sea of chocolate as his eyes flitted back to me. I heard Bella ask what was going on between us, but I didn’t care; Edward and Liz could tell her whatever they wanted. I couldn’t focus on anything other than him. 

  


“Do you want me to go, too?” I asked hesitantly. 

  


“Do you have to?” His eyes were intense. 

  


“Not if you don’t want me to.” I smiled up at him. “I can stay and help you. Answer your questions.” 

  


He glanced at Edward, Liz and Bella as they left through the front door, closing it tightly. “Doesn’t seem like they are taking you with them. So, why don’t you stay for a while?” 

  


“Ok.” I couldn't stop the smile on my face as he looked at me again. He smiled in response and I swear I almost attacked him right there. “Liz and I brought over a casserole. Do you want some? I can go get you a dish.” 

  


He raised his eyebrow at me. “Are you eating?” 

  


“I’m not hungry right now,” I said, shaking my head. 

  


“Well, that’s good.” He laughed, pushing away from the door, walking toward the kitchen. I was momentarily frozen until he glanced back at me. “This isn’t going to work if every joke I make scares you.” 

  


I laughed, breaking out of my stupor once again. “You just surprised me. You are taking this all really well.” 

  


He shrugged, turning back to the kitchen. “What’s the other choice? Lose my daughter to a bunch of vampires?” 

  


He stunned me again, but this time I broke out of it before he noticed. I walked into the kitchen with him to where Liz placed the dish we brought. I took the tin foil off, and took the spoon and bowl he handed me. I dished him up, and set it down on the table. Quickly, before he even noticed, I ran into the living room and grabbed the chairs that Edward and Bella had moved earlier, setting them down next to the table. 

  


“Wow,” he said, glancing between me and the chairs. 

  


“I’m sorry,” I said, admonishing myself for the behavior. “It’s easy to be myself around you I guess.” 

  


“So, Esme,” Charlie started, sitting down at the table motioning for me to sit as well. “Tell me about yourself.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to Tiffany F and ClaceLover08 (and I’m sure there were others!) who guessed that I was going down this route. Clever! Yes, this was always the plan. There are more explanations coming, but I don’t want to spoil any of the upcoming chapters. 
> 
> In case you hated it: just be patient. The reason for everything will be evident soon – very soon! And hopefully you will get what I mean by this time next week? We’ll see when I posted the new update. 
> 
> Couple items of note here. Yes, I changed how Bella found out. That was always a factor because I didn’t write in all the clues she had in the book. Also, with Liz in the mix, we had to make sure her gift was being utilized fully, meaning it was important for her to understand telling Charlie now was key. I always wondered what it would have been like if Charlie had been told the full story in the books. So, I decided to write it out. 
> 
> I had a couple people ask about Renee. More on her soon also, I promise. 
> 
> I hope you all are enjoying the story. Let me know! Hopefully FF will start working properly so you can all get these updates. Let me know your thoughts! 
> 
> Thanks again to my sister for pre-reading, and my beta zombified419 for proofing. Love you both!


	11. Family Union

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope that FF is working for everyone now. Please make sure to go and read chapter 9 and 10 before this one, otherwise you may be super lost! 
> 
> We are moving right along with the story today. Sorry it’s so short, but I only had so much I could cover before the next critical chapter. Read on, and see me at the bottom!

Chapter 11: Family Union 

  


Bella 

  


I was still sort of in shock by what had happened at my house by the time we got to Edward’s. The interaction between Esme and my dad was really strange, but Elizabeth and Edward didn’t seem to think so. We had taken separate cars, but they both drove so fast I didn’t get many of my questions out. 

  


“What is happening between them?” 

  


Edward glanced at me and smiled. “I think they like each other, Bella. Does that bother you?” 

  


I shrugged, glancing out the window at the fast-moving landscape. “Sort of. I don’t know.” 

  


“Do you have a problem with the fact that he likes someone? Or is it what she is that bothers you?” 

  


“No! I don’t care about that, I told you.” 

  


“So, it just bothers you that he likes someone?” 

  


I bit my lip. Is that all it was? Was I being stupid in thinking that bringing Charlie into this strange new world I was now a part of was a bad idea? Was it just that he seemed totally enamored with Esme – the vampire? I shook my head, clearing it. Vampire. I still hadn’t fully wrapped my brain around that. 

  


Jacob had seemed so casual when he told me their stories. Like it hadn’t mattered – almost like it was a joke and he was just trying to impress me. But I knew there was still something to them; like, I could feel through the conversation that he was trying to warn me without scaring me. That thought alone kept it in my head. 

  


Before I could reply to him, though, we pulled up in front of a beautiful house in the middle of the forest. He got out, and was opening my door before I could blink. 

  


“So, we add really fast to the list of things you are?” I joked, still trying to rationalize everything I had learned today. 

  


He chuckled. “I’m feeling very open with you right now. That's definitely part of who I am.” 

  


Elizabeth came around the side of the house, having parked in their massive garage. She smiled up at us, and walked into the house, motioning for us to follow. I walked in and glanced around me. The décor was really beautiful; muted tans and blues scattered throughout contrasting with dark hardwood floors. There was a large baby grand piano in the monstrously sized living room, separating the large dining area from the seating. 

  


I raised my eyes to the winding stair case that led to the upper level when I heard footsteps. I saw the rest of Edward’s family – his siblings, not his father, who I hadn’t met yet – coming down, each wearing a smile on their face. 

  


The girls came up to me, the two men lingering behind them. The shorter one approached me first. 

  


“Hello, Bella!” She sounded really excited. “I’m Alice, Edward’s sister. I’m so happy to meet you!” 

  


“Hi, Bella,” the second one said, in a calmer fashion. “I’m Rosalie. You can call me Rose, if you’d like. I’m glad you are here. Maybe we can get Edward to stop whining about you for a minute now that you two are finally together.” I watched her wink at Edward, as the guys finally stepped forward. 

  


The big one, who had almost scared me when I first saw him at school, stepped up and wrapped his arms around me, picking me up off the ground. “Hey Bella! I’m Emmett.” 

  


I laughed. “Emmett, put me down!” 

  


He let go of me, stepping back, still smiling. “Sorry, kiddo. Just happy to meet you.” 

  


“I’m glad to meet you guys, too.” I glanced at the other guy, who I assumed was Jasper. “Hi, I’m Bella. You are Jasper, right? It’s nice to meet you too.” I held my hand out, but he just waved at me, smiling. I dropped my hand. “I’m sorry, Edward told me you still struggle with humans. I’ll just wave at you then.” 

  


Rose and Alice smiled at each other, turning to face her. “I told you she’d get along with us just fine,” Alice said, smugly. “Don’t worry about Jasper, sweetie. He'll be just fine.” 

  


Rose and Alice pulled me into the living room area, and we all settled on the couch. Emmett glanced up at Edward, a smile playing on his face. Edward growled at him a little, causing me to glance back at him. His face was fierce. 

  


“What just happened?” I looked at Emmett. “What did you say to him?” 

  


“Nothing, love. He was being rude.” Edward put his arms around me, bringing me closer. 

  


“So, your dad and Esme, huh?” Emmett said, ignoring the exchange. “Interesting. Didn't realize we were going to be gaining two more in our-” 

  


“Emmett!” Rose said, hushing him. She slapped him lightly on the shoulder. “Shut up, you big oaf.” 

  


I glanced around the group of now uncomfortable looking vampires. “What? What did that mean? Two more of your what?” 

  


I turned my gaze to Edward, who closed his eyes. Thinking I wouldn’t get any explanations from him, I looked to Alice. “Alice, did you see something? What's going on here?” 

  


Alice’s eyes shot to Edward, who shook his head. She smiled at me, shaking hers also. “I don’t think that’s a story for right now, Bella. I’ll answer any other questions for you though.” 

  


I wasn’t going to be easily dissuaded, but I shifted the conversation anyway. I would ask Edward about it later, and make him tell me. “Esme said that you, um, vampires have different kinds of relationships than humans do. Are all of you like, together?” 

  


Rose was the one who answered. “She’s right. We mate for life. I think it has something to do with us being stuck where we are; once we find the person we love, we never leave them as long as it’s the real deal.” 

  


“Ok, so, who’s with who here then?” I looked around at all of them. I had my guesses, but I wanted to keep the conversation going. 

  


“Rose and I have been together forever; married, what, like five times now?” Emmett said, laughing. “Jazz and Alice were together when they found us. And of course, you know Carlisle and Liz are married.” 

  


I glanced around, thinking Edward’s mother was still with us, but she was nowhere to be found. “Liz, you mean Edward’s mother?” Emmett nodded. “Where did she go?” 

  


Jasper stepped forward, finally speaking. “She ran out for a quick hunt before Carlisle gets home,” he explained. “I’m glad you are here, Bella.” 

  


I blushed, and all eyes were on me. “Crap, I'm sorry.” Unfortunately, that made me even more embarrassed, and I blushed harder. “It’s sort of involuntary.” 

  


“What is? What's wrong?” Emmett looked at me, and glanced at the others. 

  


“My blush. I'm not trying to make any of you uncomfortable.” For a moment there was silence, then the whole group started laughing. 

  


“It’s ok Bella. We are around humans every day, don’t worry about it.” Rose laughed, leaning forward a bit. “What do you think about Esme and your dad?” 

  


“Rose!” Edward hissed. “She doesn’t know everything yet.” 

  


I jumped on that. “Know what? Tell me, what am I missing here?” 

  


Alice leaned forward also, copying Rose’s movement. “What we said about staying with people forever, it’s true. But it’s deeper than that. When we meet the person we are supposed to be with there is an almost uncontrollable pull toward them. We call them our mate; the person we stay with forever.” 

  


Glancing around the room again, I settled on Edward’s face. “And Esme and my dad are mates?” 

  


He nodded, smiling at me. Ok, that was going to take a minute to process. I ran through the scenarios in my head of my father falling in love with a vampire. “Um. Ok.” I remembered how he looked at her, and how she looked at him. I thought about all the years that he had been by himself after my mother took me and left him. Suddenly, it didn’t matter what she was. I knew how I felt about Edward, why would I deny my father the same thing. 

  


Alice clapped, laughing. “I knew you wouldn’t mind.” 

  


“You are amazing, love. I can’t believe how easily you are accepting this.” Edward kissed my hair, and I glanced around. 

  


“Stupid seeing into the future and mind-reading vampires. I can see that I'll never have another private moment as long as I'm around you guys,” I grumbled. 

  


Alice, Jasper and Emmett laughed, but Rose pursed her lips and glared at Edward. “You didn’t tell her, did you?” 

  


“Tell me what?” I was getting whiplash looking around the group. 

  


“Edward can hear what everyone is thinking, except for you.” Rose glared at him again. “You promised you would tell her the truth!” 

  


“I did tell her, Rose. I just didn’t get to everything.” 

  


I shifted so I could fully look at him. “You can’t hear me?” This made me happy, somehow. That at least something was private. 

  


“You are silent to me; I'm not really sure why. Though, your father is fairly quiet, too.” He shrugged. “Carlisle and I have discussed it, and we aren’t sure what’s different about you two.” 

  


“Is there something wrong with me?” 

  


He laughed, closing his arms around me tighter. “I tell you I can read minds, and you think there’s something wrong with you?” 

  


We hung out with his siblings for a few more hours. Each of them would answer a question I asked, all taking turns. Whenever I asked a question, after it was answered they would each ask me a question in return. They were definitely trying to get to know me, which was sort of nice. Like whatever Edward and I were to each other made them want to know me. The thought had me smiling as we got into his car to head back home. 

  


“You really don’t sleep? Like at all?” I was still reeling from that piece of knowledge. The conversation had started when I jokingly asked where the coffins were. That set the whole group laughing for so long I almost didn't get my question answered. 

  


“No, not at all. Not in a hundred years, anyway.” 

  


“Interesting,” was all I could say. They had definitely satisfied my curiosity about many subjects, but I knew I would have more questions. 

  


I had gotten along surprisingly well with his siblings. They had all been genuinely nice, and funny. Emmett would crack jokes if anything was said that was uncomfortable. He made me feel at ease. Rose and Alice both seemed to be so friendly, that I could actually see myself becoming close with them. Jasper was a bit of an anomaly, since he hadn’t really said very much. I knew that he struggled with what I was, so I never pushed him. I also made sure that I stayed farther away from him so he wouldn’t have to smell too much. 

  


When we got to my house, I kissed Edward silently. “Thank you for today. I'm glad you were honest with me.” 

  


He smiled, kissing my nose. “I’m glad you took it as well as you did.” He glanced down, his face turning into a frown for a moment. “If you change your mind, though, I won’t be upset with you. I understand that this is not what you were expecting out of our relationship.” 

  


I put my hand on his cheek, shifting his face so he was looking at me again. “I’m not changing my mind. You are stuck with me, my friend.” 

  


He kissed my hand. “Are we just friends Bella?” 

  


“I was under the impression that we were far more than that.” 

  


His smile dazzled me, as I told him earlier, and he leaned over and kissed me. I was seeing stars behind my eyes still when I walked into the house. I saw Charlie and Esme in the living room, sitting really close together, and then I was suddenly grossed out again. Not because of what she was, but because I really didn’t need to see anything that would burn my eyes out. 

  


“I’m home,” I said loudly, watching them separate on the couch a little. “If I have to be careful to show my boyfriend any kind of affection around you, Dad, then can you do the same for me, please?” 

  


I bid them a goodnight, noticing Charlie’s blushing face, and ran up the stairs. I really didn’t need to get into anything. I got ready for bed, and was laying down when I heard a soft knock on my door. 

  


“Bells, you still awake?” Charlie asked through the door. 

  


“Yeah, come in Dad.” 

  


He came in and sat in the rocking chair beside my bed. He didn’t say anything for a minute, but I waited. He probably had a lot on his mind also. 

  


“How are you doing, kid? With all of this?” 

  


I shrugged, sitting up on my bed. “I’m not really sure. It's sort of strange to learn that there are mythical creatures in the world, and that I know some of them.” 

  


He nodded, leaning forward placing his arms on his knees. “Esme left,” he said, not looking at me. 

  


“You like her, don’t you Dad?” 

  


He blushed again, and I almost laughed. “More than I thought possible.” 

  


“That’s how I feel about Edward, Dad.” His eyes shot up to mine. “We make a pair, huh? Both in love with vampires.” 

  


He laughed. “Never thought that would happen. Course, I never thought they were real anyway.” 

  


“Esme seems nice,” I commented, hoping to get a little more out of him – as long as it remained G-rated. 

  


He leaned back against the chair, eyes on the ceiling. “She’s amazing. She's beautiful, of course, but she’s also kind. Wickedly smart, and funny.” 

  


“Did she explain to you about mates?” I wondered if I should say anything, but at this point in the day I wasn’t really into keeping secrets. 

  


Edward 

  


I listened to Bella and Charlie talk, my hand shifting a little as I held myself just a little closer. Hearing her tell him how she felt about me had done something to my heart, but listening to them discuss mates was fascinating. 

  


I heard Esme’s mind racing, as she joined me in my favorite tree. I had a feeling that she and I would be spending a lot of time together in this old tree, now that neither of us could be apart from the Swan house. Or at least the people inside the house. 

  


“She did, to a degree,” Charlie was saying, in response to Bella’s questions. I held my breath. Each of them knew something about the other – something that we hadn’t shared. 

  


“It’s fine, Edward. Alice said not to worry. Just let them talk,” Esme said next to me. 

  


“I know, I saw it. It's just sort of disorienting hearing this.” She put her hand in mine and leaned her head against my shoulder. 

  


“What did she tell you?” Bella asked her dad. 

  


Charlie shifted a little, clearly uncomfortable. “She said that you and Edward were, um, important to each other.” 

  


“What does that mean, exactly?” 

  


“Bella, Esme said that you and Edward were mates.” Apparently, Charlie wasn’t going to hold anything back from his daughter. I sighed. I hadn’t told her that because I wasn’t sure how to say it. 

  


Bella sat back in her bed against the frame, chewing on her lip. “He didn’t tell me that.” She looked at Charlie. “Did Esme say anything about you two?” 

  


“About what?” 

  


“About you two being mates.” I felt Esme sigh next to me. The Swans were sort of ruining the suspense; or at least the truths that we hadn’t told them about. 

  


Their conversation flew from there, with each of them wondering why Esme and I hadn’t told them the whole truth. They were up talking for another couple hours, and it was getting quite late. I worried about Bella being tired at school the next day, before I remembered that it was the start of spring break already. 

  


From the tenure of their conversation, it seemed that though they were upset we hadn’t told them, though they ultimately didn’t seem to mind the label that we had put on them. Charlie seemed almost happy about it, while Bella’s eyes were glowing a little. Esme and I both smiled at each other. 

  


Esme shifted to a different tree, facing Charlie’s window, once they had both finally decided to go to bed. I stayed where I was because it was still the best view on her room. I listened as her breath became even, and her heart rate, too. I was being lulled by her heart beat as always when I heard the buzzing of her cellphone, which was plugged in and sitting on the desk across from her bed. I glanced at the alarm clock, noting it was 3am. Who the hell was calling at 3am? 

  


I didn’t get my answer until morning, when Bella listened to her messages. 

  


“Hi baby! I just wanted to call and check on you. Phil and I are in...where are we again? Oh, right, Kansas City. Probably stay here for a few more days. I decided to get rid of my cell phone; it was really frustrating me; you know I can’t work that thing! I'm calling from a payphone, or I’d give you my number. Anyway, I'll call you back later. Hopefully you’ll pick up next time! Love you, sweetie!” 

  


Bella stared down at her phone. “She called me at 3am and expected me to answer?” Charlie came into the room, looking at her questioningly. “Mom called saying they were in Kansas City. She sort of sounded upset that I didn’t answer, but she called at 3am!” 

  


Charlie huffed a laugh. “Probably forgot there was a time difference. Why the hell are they in Kansas? Weren’t they just in Arizona a few days ago? Did they get Phil’s check already?” 

  


Bella nodded. “Yeah, she left me a voice mail a few days ago saying that the money had been wired into their account. She called from the dealership, right after they bought their RV.” She turned her attention back to her cereal. “Guess they got it and quite literally took off.” 

  


Charlie sipped his coffee. “Just call her back now.” 

  


Bella shook her head. “Mom said she got rid of her cell; she was calling me from a payphone.” 

  


Charlie laughed. “Payphones still exist?” 

  


Bella joined the laughter. “I guess so.” 

  


“So, what do you want to do today, kid? We got the whole week.” 

  


“You took the whole week off, Dad?” Bella eyes him suspiciously. “And you aren’t on your boat right now?” 

  


Charlie was quiet for a minute. I adjusted myself on the tree so I could get a better look at him. He was staring intently at his coffee mug. “I may have told Esme that we could go out later today.” 

  


“You going on a date, Dad? Do I need to give you a curfew?” Bella laughed, leaning over and placing her hand on his. “That’s great, I'm happy for you.” 

  


“What about you? What will you do today?” 

  


“I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll text Edward and see if he’s busy.” I smirked; I knew I wasn’t. Hell, even if I was, if Bella wanted to see me, I would drop everything anyway. 

  


Charlie went upstairs to take a shower, and Bella did text me. We made plans for me to come pick her up in an hour. Esme came around the corner in her car just as I was about to turn to run home. She smiled at me as she pulled into the driveway, hopping out and walking at a human pace to the door. I smiled back, running home. 

  


The next few days were spent in a fog. At least, for me they were. I spent every moment I could with Bella, just as Esme had with Charlie. We were each growing closer in our relationships, and I was finding it easier and easier to be myself around Bella. 

  


I thought back to when Esme and I had been out on our own, the laughs we had, and how close we had gotten. It didn’t surprise me that we ended up falling in love with similar people – father and daughter, no less. Carlisle may have turned her ultimately for me, but he hadn’t realized the connection that she and I would have all these years later. We were destined to be in the same family, this I knew for sure. 

  


By Friday evening of spring break, I was so happy I couldn’t even believe my luck. Bella and I were still reserved in our physical activities, because I was trying to be extra careful. But I wanted her. And I think she knew it. Mother had sat me down and explained that I couldn’t hold my 1918 ideals over her head; we were in a new millennium and I needed to remember that’s who Bella was. And while my brain may have been telling me I couldn’t do anything until after marriage, my stubborn inner teenager was trying very hard to forget that. 

  


Bella was patient with me, which was good. I needed to go slow in order to ensure I didn’t hurt her. The more we touched, though, the easier it got. 

  


Friday night turned out to be the turning point for all of us. Billy and Jacob Black showed up to watch the game. Esme and I were unprepared, but as soon as I heard their minds, I ran to her whispering what was coming. 

  


Bella and Charlie looked between us, startled as we both had a scared look on our faces. “What’s going on?” Charlie demanded, stepping up to Esme putting his arm around her. 

  


“Billy and Jacob are around the corner,” I explained, feeling Bella stand beside me. “They wanted to watch the game.” 

  


Charlie relaxed. “Oh, that’s fine then.” 

  


I shook my head. “No, Charlie. Jacob just turned recently. He can already smell us.” 

  


I had explained to both of them how the tribe worked; how they became fevered and turned into the giant wolves, their senses dialed up to a ten. They became more aware of us at that point, and understood more about the legends and the truths associated. 

  


Charlie looked between me and Esme. “What do they know?” 

  


“They know we are here, but that’s all. They are both furious that you allowed us in your home.” 

  


He looked out the window, as if expecting them to pull up immediately. He walked to the door, opened it and took a step out. “Let them come, then. Sounds like we need to have a conversation.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is the turning point in the story, and what sets everything else in motion. You’ll see! Hopefully you are all still enjoying, and FF’s bug didn’t send too many of you packing. 
> 
> A couple things I want to address: Yes, the timeline in this story is quite different than the books. Not fully intentional on my part; when I was writing I just couldn’t keep them apart as long as she did originally. At this point, Bella has only been in Forks for three weeks or so. Time is moving very quickly. 
> 
> Unless something strange happens here, my intent is to give you the next chapter a little earlier than Wednesday this week. I’m still in full edit mode, but life keeps getting in the way. I’ll do my best, but worse case by Wednesday you’ll get the next chapter – which really does spearhead the rest of the story. Won’t say more, though! 
> 
> Thanks again to my betas: My sister trying not to drown in Panama, and my wonderful friend zombified419! I appreciate you both so much!


	12. The Separation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I’m glad that everyone is enjoying this so far! I know you aren’t reading my note though; eager to get to Billy and Jacob’s response? Let’s get on with it then!

Chapter 12: The Separation 

  


Edward 

  


They pulled up just a few minutes later, Jacob behind the wheel of a tan colored sedan. The rage I heard in his mind was evident on his face as he stared at Charlie in the doorway, with Esme standing right next to him. Jacob got out of the car and helped Billy into the wheelchair stowed in the back, never taking his eyes off of her. 

  


I grabbed Esme, pulling her back out of the door way, leaving Charlie to greet them as they got closer. She struggled against me, wanting to get closer to her mate, but I restrained her. Bella walked up to stand next to us, placing her arm feebly against Esme, attempting to also halt her progress. 

  


Jacob greeted Charlie through gritted teeth, glaring at both me and Esme. “Charlie, Bella. Looks like you’ve made some new friends.” 

  


Charlie helped wheel Billy inside, not responding to Jacob. We all stood around for a moment without saying anything, but Esme slipped through my hands. She flitted over to Charlie, putting her arms around him. He responded by doing the same, and Jacob and Billy just stared at the two of them. 

  


“Charlie? What’s going on here?” Billy asked, turning to face them. 

  


“Billy and Jacob, this is Esme, my...” He glanced down at her, smiling. “My mate.” 

  


“Mate?” Jacob spit out, anger making his body shake. “What the hell do you mean your mate?” 

  


“Jacob,” I said, taking a step toward him. I could feel how close he was to snapping; he was young still and didn’t know how to control himself better. He had only phased a few times, according to what I was reading off of him. Sam had been helping him, but he was far from being able to control himself. “Let’s go outside and talk? We need you to calm down.” 

  


“I’m not going anywhere with a blood sucker,” Jacob yelled, his body shaking even more. Billy touched his arm, stopping him from coming after me. I pushed Bella behind me, so that I was in-between them. Esme tried to mirror my actions, but Charlie shook his head at her, keeping himself between them instead. Esme’s eyes shot to me, right as Jacob’s body exploded. 

  


Billy’s chair was pushed out of the way, slamming into the wall in the kitchen. I grabbed Bella and pulled her toward the back wall, putting space between them. Jacob transformed took over most of the space, especially for the small area of Charlie’s living room. He howled and jumped toward Esme, but I couldn’t react. My focus was on Bella and keeping her away from him, I had to trust Esme to take care of Charlie. 

  


Within the span of seconds, though, I realized that because Charlie had kept himself in front of her, she didn’t react as quickly as if she had seen exactly what was happening. Jacob grabbed Charlie and tossed him to the side like a rag doll, baring his teeth at Esme. The thump of Charlie’s body colliding with the wall and hitting the floor caught everyone’s attention before Jacob got to Esme. We all turned to stare in shock at Charlie’s still body. 

  


Esme backed away from Jacob, and turned to run out the front door. I heard her thoughts as she ran, she was trying to get him away from Charlie and Bella, to save them both, even if it was at the expense of herself. 

  


“Bella, stay here. Please!” I didn’t have time to wait for her to respond. I rushed over to Charlie, quickly assessing him. I brought back all of the medical training I'd had over the years and triaged that he was badly injured, yet thankfully alive. Bella was by my side in seconds, crying silently next to his unconscious body. 

  


“Edward?” she asked, through sobs. 

  


“He’s alive, Bella. But we need to get him to the hospital immediately. Bella,” I said quietly, without looking up. “Call 911. Now!” She started digging in her pocket to get her cell out, unlocking it with shaking hands. 

  


Just as soon as I said that, though, Carlisle burst through the front door. “Put the phone down, Bella. We can’t call anyone.” 

  


I stared at him. “Carlisle, what are you doing here?” 

  


“Alice told me to come. She saw something...” his voice carried off as he rushed over to help me with Charlie. He quickly started assessing him as I had. “Emmett and Jasper left when we smelled Esme’s scent through the forest.” 

  


“Jacob Black,” I said in confirmation, holding the bleeding down on Charlie’s shoulder. “He shifted and injured Charlie. Esme ran off trying to get him away from Bella and Charlie.” 

  


Bella was shaking, I could hear and feel it. Carlisle was taking care of Charlie, but I kept my hand on his shoulder where the blood was seeping out. I pulled her close to me, kissing her head, trying to calm her down. 

  


I turned to Billy, who was rolling over to us. “Billy, you need to get yourself out of here immediately. We'll tell them that he was attacked by a bear just outside the forest line. But we need you to go, and quickly!” 

  


“No, Edward. There's no time for an ambulance.” Carlisle looked up at me, his eyes grave. “He won’t make it. Listen to his heart, son.” 

  


The faulty beat was weakening, and I could hear Bella falling apart beside me at those words. “Carlisle, we have to do something. Esme...she’ll be lost without him.” I choked up; I was already mourning for my mate’s lost father, and Esme’s lost future. 

  


“I can save him, Edward,” Carlisle said, quietly. My head turned swiftly to look at him. 

  


“You would doom him to our fate?” 

  


“Carlisle, please. Just save him.” Bella whispered, scooting closer and grabbing Charlie’s hand. 

  


“Bella, he didn’t choose this.” 

  


She turned to look at me. “How many of you did?” A tear rolled down her cheek. “What did your mother say to convince him to save you? For him to do what he could, right? What others couldn’t?” She turned back to Carlisle. “Save him, now. Please don’t let my father die.” 

  


Carlisle didn’t waste any time; he bent down and bit Charlie on the neck, twice. Billy rolled up, his face passive, as he looked over his friend on the ground. I closed my eyes. We had just killed the treaty, no pun intended, and Billy Black was a witness to it. 

  


“I texted Sam, Edward. The boys are talking Jake down now. Sam is on his way here.” I heard Billy say. His voice wasn’t filled with anger, but there was an edge to his voice. I listened to his thoughts, he was consumed with thoughts of the broken treaty, not even taking into account the fact that he and Jacob had broken it already. 

  


I reached for my phone, texting Mother asking for her and Alice to get here immediately. I knew that Mother was the best resource we had right now, considering it was her who had forged the original treaty with Billy’s ancestor. 

  


I listened to Charlie’s heartbeat. It was a little stronger now, and I could tell the blood was not seeping as much. I took the opportunity to remove my hand and wind it around Bella, bringing her to me. She was still crying and shaking. 

  


“Edward, we need to move him. And we need to come up with a story.” 

  


“Alice and Mother will be here soon, Carlisle. They will know what to do.” I didn’t look at him. I was focused on Bella, who was falling apart in my arms. 

  


Soon enough, Mother was coming through the door with Alice, Sam close behind them. Alice flitted over to me and Bella first. 

  


“Take her upstairs, let her rest.” 

  


“What about d-d-Dad? What are you going to do with him?” Bella asked Alice. 

  


“We are going to have to get him away from here as fast as we can. We don’t want him near humans once he’s turned.” 

  


“But he’s going to be ok right? Carlisle bit him, that means he’s going to be ok?” Bella bit her lip, looking between the two of us. 

  


I saw a flash of a vision in Alice’s head. It was sort of jumbled, not as clear as most of her visions are, but I could see Charlie standing in front of Esme, his arms spread like he was protecting her. He was definitely a vampire. 

  


“He’s going to be just fine, love. Come on, let’s get you upstairs.” 

  


She leaned over and kissed Charlie’s forehead. “I love you, Dad.” Then, she shifted and stood, walking in front of me. She got to her bedroom door, and pushed it open, taking a final glance down the stairs. She couldn’t see him from there, but she looked anyway, almost like it was going to be the last time she saw him. 

  


Then she walked into her room and curled up on her bed. I closed the door, asking Alice to make sure no one bothered us, before laying down next to her and putting my arm around her. I held her close while she cried herself to sleep. 

  


Esme 

  


By the time the other wolves got to us, I was absolutely terrified. Jacob had grazed me a few times and I knew just how sharp his teeth were. I tried desperately not to think about Charlie and what was happening back at his house. I just had to lead Jacob as far away from them as possible. 

  


But once Jacob’s buddies got there, they tackled him and held him to the ground. I stopped running and braced myself, in case they decided to turn back and start chasing me. Emmett and Jasper arrived while they were still wrestling with Jacob. They stood in front of me, protecting me from the wolves. One of them stepped up and phased into human form. 

  


“He’s ok now. We are going to get him home.” The boy looked apologetic. “Please tell Charlie...tell him we are all sorry for what happened.” 

  


I nodded at him, not trusting my voice. I was furious with Jacob, and if I ever got him alone, I would kill him. Emmett and Jasper steered me back toward Charlie’s house. I had run pretty far, so I knew it would take us a while to get back. I glanced at the wolves for a second, but ultimately, I didn’t care about them. I needed to get back to Charlie. 

  


The last week with him had been the best of my existence. He was a quiet yet caring man. When he loved, he loved with his whole heart. The first time he kissed me, I thought I would burst with happiness. He was so caring with me. We had stayed up until all hours of the night just talking and getting to know each other. But eventually he would fall asleep. Once he did, he would shift until his arms were around me and we would sleep all night that way. Well, he would sleep, and I would watch him. He never let go of me. 

  


As we were racing through the forest, I just kept focusing on our nights together. Everything we’d said to each other. Everything I felt for him. Everything I was sure he felt for me. Everything I wanted for us in the future. We rounded the bend and burst through the forest wall next to the house and immediately stopped when I heard screaming inside the house. 

  


Rose and Carlisle were just opening the back door carrying a body. I gasped in horror when I realized that the body and the screaming was the same person; Charlie. I ran up to them, putting my hand to his face. 

  


“Charlie? It’s Esme. I’m here. Oh god, what’s going on?” I looked up at them, begging someone to tell me something. 

  


“He was going to die, Esme. I had to save him,” Carlisle explained. He and Rose continued to walk, getting him away from the house. “His screaming is causing alarm to the neighbors. Edward said that they were sending the cops here, thinking someone was being attacked.” 

  


“What do we do?” 

  


“You need to get him out of here. He can’t be near the humans, and you know that. Head to Denali. Tonya will be able to help you.” He motioned to the east. “Liz brought you the fastest car we have, it’s filled with gas already. Just get him there as fast as you can. Let us handle the rest.” 

  


I nodded, unable to really think clearly. They helped me carry him to where Liz had parked the car. As fast as I could, I got him in the backseat. I thanked them both wordlessly, and hit the gas. 

  


Carlisle 

  


Getting the cops to believe us was harder than we originally thought. But we had an unlikely advocate, it seemed. Billy Black had stuck around, with Sam hovering behind him, and explained that they had come over to help when Charlie fell. I explained that he had a spine injury and I had sent him upstate to a friend of mine who was a specialist. They were wary of us in general, but kept asking why we hadn’t called an ambulance. 

  


“It would have taken longer for you to assess him than me just getting him to my friend. He fell out of a tree in the backyard, landing right on his back. If he ever walks again, it will be a miracle.” 

  


The young copy looked down at his notebook. “And what about his daughter? Isabella?” 

  


“As I said, she’s upstairs. She's very upset. My wife and I are planning on taking her home with us while Charlie is being evaluated. Once we have more information, which will only be a few days, we will take her up there to be with him.” I was calm, going over everything Alice and Liz had told me to say. I knew it would turn out well; I trusted them completely. I never questioned what they told me to do, not after so many years of correct ideas. 

  


“Did you call her mother? That’s who has full custody of her.” 

  


“We tried, but her cell phone was disconnected,” Liz explained, stepping closer to the man and putting her arm around me. “She and her husband are on a road trip, I believe. We don’t have any other numbers for her, or her husband.” 

  


The young man nodded. “We’ll see if we can find them for you. In the meantime, I suppose it’s fine for Isabella to stay with you. Please have Charlie call us as soon as he can so we can make sure he’s ok.” 

  


They asked a few more questions of those around us, but we seemed to be off the hook. I knew from Edward that Bella was still sleeping, and I wanted her to stay that way. As the police cleared out, my family started filtering in, all concerned over our newest members. Rose and Emmett were embracing, heads close together, near the far wall; Alice and Jasper were sitting close together on the couch, while Liz was never far away from me. 

  


Once the officers left, I looked back at Billy and Sam, and a couple other members of the tribe who had come in a short time ago. I knew we needed to discuss the broken treaty, but I wasn’t sure how to start the conversation. My wife took care of that for me. 

  


Liz rounded on them as soon as she knew the police were gone. “I hope you are happy with the situation we have found ourselves in. It’s because of your son’s reckless behavior that Charlie is in the shape he is!” 

  


Liz rarely got angry, but she was amazing this time. She dressed down the wolves in such a fashion that the younger ones were almost crying by the time she was done. When she loved, it was fully, and she couldn’t stand the idea of someone she loved being hurt. And she said that to them; that’s what made Sam step closer. 

  


“You love Charlie? I thought he was with the other one? The one who drove off with him?” 

  


Liz rolled her eyes – a mannerism she had picked up from Edward, I was quite sure – and glared at him. “I love all of my family, Sam. Can you not say the same about your tribe?” 

  


Sam squared his jaw, looking around the room at all of us. “We need to discuss the treaty,” he said, as if Liz hadn’t spoken. “As of tonight, the treaty is null and void.” 

  


Liz huffed out a laugh. “It was broken long before today, Sam. You do realize that part of the treaty that we signed was that you would keep our secret, right?” She turned and stared down at Billy. “Tell him. Tell him that you broke the treaty before we did.” 

  


Sam looked at Billy, who was focusing intently on the floor. “Billy? What’s going on? What does she mean?” 

  


When Billy didn’t say anything, Liz turned back to Sam. “He told Charlie about your legends. When we came clean to him, I asked him to tell us what he knew first and we would confirm if it was true. He told us everything, Sam! He knew we were your ‘cold ones’, he knew about you turning into wolves, everything! Billy broke the treaty already, so in our eyes it was done before your kind hurt Charlie.” Her eyes were flashing at him. “Charlie almost died because of your tribe. Jacob could have killed him! If Carlisle hadn’t been on his way over already, he would be dead by now. We saved him, in the only way that we could.” 

  


Sam was silent, staring at Liz while she spoke. His mouth was set in a firm thin line. He glanced at the rest of the pack in the room, before placing his eyes on her. “Let us confer together. Please do not do anything; let us talk to the elders.” 

  


I stepped forward. “We still do not mean you any harm, Sam. We only hunt animals, you know that. No matter what the treaty said, we would have never bit any of them without cause. We only did this to save Charlie’s life.” I didn’t add because we had to, or because it was their fault he was hurt. He knew that, and rubbing it in even more wasn’t worth the effort. 

  


Sam nodded to me once, grabbed ahold of Billy’s wheelchair and they all left out the front door. My family crowded around us then, watching them leave. All except Edward and Bella. 

  


“Son, how is she doing?” I asked, knowing he could hear me. 

  


“She’s in pain, Carlisle. She misses him already.” 

  


“Should we try and find Renee?” 

  


“No, I don’t think that would help her. Renee and Phil are already on their world-tour at the moment,” Edward said with malice in his voice. I could tell his opinion of Bella’s mother was quite low. “Let me keep her here tonight; she needs to be around what she knows before we take her anywhere, ok?” 

  


“I understand, son. We’ll clear out and give you both some privacy.” 

  


Liz grabbed my hand. “Esme will keep Charlie safe, Carlisle. But we need to figure out what we are going to do next. We can’t keep Bella here without her father; it will cause too much of a stir. She's still underage.” Her face went blank for a moment. 

  


Alice hopped up next to Liz, her eyes went blank also. “Yes, that’s it, Liz. We can do that.” 

  


As usual, they kept us out of the plan initially. But, after all, they had never led us down the wrong path before. We all just trusted them to see us through. None of us asked, knowing we would be brought into the plan eventually. Instead, we said quiet goodbyes to Edward, letting him know we would be close by if he needed us, and left out the front door. Rose and Emmett drove Edward and Esme’s cars home, while the rest of us opted to run. 

  


Once we were far enough away from the house to make sure Edward couldn’t hear us, I slowed down holding Liz back. “You can see that Charlie will be fine, right?” 

  


“Alice has already, yes.” 

  


“Did you know this was a possibility with the strand of choices available to Charlie?” I asked her, almost afraid of the answer. The sadness in her eyes told me the truth, though. 

  


“It was the only way, Carlisle. As soon as I saw that Esme would be his mate, I knew. When Edward wasn’t around, I searched through the choices again and made sure that I took the path that would lead us here. If I hadn’t, I only saw heartache for Esme and Bella, and Charlie’s path ending. This choice at least has us all together at the end.” 

  


I hung my head, thinking through what she said. “Bella may resent it. Hell, Charlie may also, Liz.” 

  


She put her arms around me, laying her head on my chest. I pulled her in tighter, resting my head on hers. “I know. It was the only option we had, though.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Carlisle has made some questionable choices through the years, but ultimately, we all know his heart is in the right place. He doesn’t want people to die when there is an alternative, and he views his life as such. He made the choice because Bella asked him. 
> 
> There are always choices in life, right? This is the one that ended the best for everyone. However, now we have a separation looming. Bella can’t be near her father because he will be a newborn soon, and Renee is off on her adventure. Next up, we see what the Cullens and Masons will do to keep the Charlie story solid, and to keep Bella safe. 
> 
> Also, will do my best to stick to my schedule this week. I wanted to give you guys this chapter because I’m going to be super busy and may not be able to update too fast. I’ll try, but life may get in the way. 
> 
> Thanks to all of you for reading and reviewing! And a special thanks to my sister for pre-reading, and my beta zombified419!


	13. The Path Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, the response to the last chapter blew me away, guys! You can tell that this is not a “Jacob is great” story, huh? LOL. 
> 
> Well, every action has consequences, and this chapter will be just the beginning. The main arc in the story starts here, and is just a beginning. I hope that you will all continue to enjoy, and leave me more reviews! I live for every last one of them!

Chapter 13: The Path Forward 

  


Bella 

  


I woke up curled in a ball on my bed with Edward stretched out next to me. His arm was around me, holding me close. I shifted, stretching, and his hand began moving up and down my arm in a comforting gesture. I turned around so I could look at him. He smiled at me, kissing my forehead. 

  


“How are you feeling, love?” He asked, his face full of concern. 

  


Love? How long had he been calling me that? Did I just now notice? “I’m ok. I guess I totally crashed out.” I sat up, still a little disoriented. Suddenly, it all started coming back to me. I gasped, staring over at him. “Where’s Charlie? Is he ok?” 

  


He sat up, looking at me carefully. “He’s ok, love. Esme is taking him to our friends in Alaska. He's in the middle of changing.” 

  


“Changing?” And then I remembered. I had asked Carlisle to save him; just as Edward’s mother had done so many years ago. “Will I ever see him again?” 

  


Edward leaned over and kissed my arm. “Yes, love. You will definitely see him again. He just needs time to orient himself to his new life, that’s all.” 

  


“I should call Renee.” I got up and fished my cell phone out of my jacket that was sitting on the floor. The screen did not unlock; the battery must have died. I leaned over my desk, picking up my charger and plugged it in. Once it registered it was charging, I turned it on. I waited for it to boot up, before clicking on the phone icon. As soon as I hit send to call Renee, I remembered. “Wait, she doesn’t have her cell phone any more. Crap.” 

  


I looked up at Edward, who had shifted to sitting on the bed. “How am I supposed to contact her?” 

  


He shook his head. “I’m not sure, honestly. Do you want us to try and find her for you?” 

  


I thought about that for a moment. If we did find Renee, she would have to come for me. I was a minor, and wasn’t legally able to live on my own. I shook my head at him, turning the screen off on my phone. I set it down on the desk and walked back over to the bed, sitting down next to him and leaning my head against his shoulder. “She has her new life now. I don’t want to bother her.” 

  


He wound his arms around me, shifting me so that I was on his lap. I leaned my head down on his shoulder again, slipping my arms around him, too. “I’m sorry you are going through all of this. I wish I could make it better.” 

  


I leaned back so I could look at him. “You do make it better. You make everything better.” 

  


He smiled my favorite crooked grin and leaned in, capturing my lips. I returned the kiss gently at first, but I felt heat building up in my stomach. Soon, I shifted my legs so I was straddling him, bringing my arms around his shoulders and pulling him closer to me. His arms dropped to my hips, bringing me closer still and rubbing along my legs. 

  


I knew he had limits, and I was stretching them already by being this close. I just wanted to be near him. I wasn’t kidding when I told him that he made everything better. His very presence helped me to calm like nothing else. But knowing him as I did, I pulled back taking a deep breath. 

  


“I’m sorry, Edward.” I looked down, biting my lip. He surprised me by chuckling, and kissing my nose. 

  


“Don’t be sorry for that, love. I could kiss you all day.” And then as if to prove it, he brought his mouth back to mine. His hands continued to rub on my legs as he deepened the kiss. He had never kissed me like this before. His mouth had been mostly off-limits; but his lips covered his teeth while his tongue entered my mouth. 

  


I moaned into his mouth, and that was the mistake I made. So quickly I didn’t realize what was happening, I was shoved on the bed and Edward was against the far wall. His arms bracing himself, as if he was holding back. 

  


I apologized again, not looking at him. My head was in turmoil. If my own boyfriend couldn’t be around me, what chance did my father have? Edward was wrong, I wasn’t going to see Charlie again. He wouldn’t be able to be around me at all. The bloodlust that they all fight every day would be worst for him because he would be young, as they called it. I hung my head in shame and sadness, as it totally overwhelmed me. 

  


Edward came closer to me, kneeling down and putting his hands on my legs again. “I’m so sorry, Bella. That was unforgivably rude.” 

  


“I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable. I'll be better next time, I promise.” I still hadn’t looked at him. 

  


He brought his hand to my chin, moving it so that I was looking right at him. “It wasn’t you, love. Well, it sort of was, but not in the way you are thinking.” He pursed his lips together as if trying to hold back a smile. “Would it make sense if I told you that I am only a man?” 

  


I cocked my head to the side. “No?” 

  


Slowly, so as to not frighten me, Edward pushed me back onto the bed so I was laying in the middle. He crawled over me, settling between my legs, carefully putting a little of his weight on me. I felt hardness between his legs, gently pushing into me. He kissed me softly and then sat back up, staring into my eyes. 

  


Then I got it. What he was trying to say. “Oh,” I said, eloquently. I shifted a little under him, causing the friction I desperately wanted, and I watched his eyes darken. 

  


“Can you feel what you are doing to me?” he asked, his eyes black. 

  


I giggled. Yes - I actually freaking giggled at him. His lips came down on mine, harder than usual. I slipped my arms up his back, just relishing the feel of him on top of me. I brought one of my hands up to the back of his head, gently tugging on his hair as he kissed me harder. 

  


Soon – way too soon – he pulled back, a look of frustration on his face. “Go away, Alice,” he said to the room. He didn’t look away from me. 

  


“Unless you want to be caught by the Forks PD in this situation, you’ll listen to me, Edward!” came the reply from the other side of my bedroom door. 

  


He sighed and stood up off the bed. He glanced down at me; eyes still dark. “We need to get you up, love. We will have visitors shortly.” 

  


I got out of bed then, disappointed about losing my alone time with Edward and made my way downstairs. Since I hadn’t changed the night before, I just walked downstairs in those same clothes. No one would really care, anyway. 

  


As we waiting for our visitors, I grabbed a bowl and some cereal, pouring myself some. “So, what’s the story?” I glanced up and Edward and Alice, noticing that Elizabeth was in the living room. She smiled and walked closer. 

  


“Charlie was injured when he fell in the forest,” Liz explained. “Carlisle just happened to be here, and assessed quickly that it was a spine injury. Instead of calling an ambulance, Carlisle called a friend of his upstate and got Charlie in to a treatment facility. They are still assessing his injuries now.” 

  


I nodded, taking a bite of my cereal before it got mushy. “And that’s all I am supposed to know, right?” 

  


She nodded, a sad look on her face. 

  


“Ok. I can do that. Have I spoken to him?” Liz shook her head. “Got it.” I didn’t go into anything more. If I was going to do this, I needed to remember the lie over anything else right now. After the officers left, then I would ask about the future. How this was going to work with my father gone, where was I going to go, etc. This was enough for now. 

  


I was almost done with my cereal when two cruisers pulled into my driveway. I glanced out the window; I recognized the young officers, but I couldn’t put names to their faces. Charlie had introduced me to everyone several times when I came up here before, and my first week here, but I couldn’t think of any of their names. 

  


I met them at the door, not willing to extend this visit any longer than it had to be. They walked through the door, as I opened it for them. They both looked at me with sad eyes, just as Liz had, but they came in and stayed in the doorway. 

  


“Do you want to sit down?” I offered, pointing to the living room. 

  


“No, ma’am. We just wanted to come by and give you an update.” The shorter of the two glanced around at Edward, Alice and Liz who were all standing behind me. “We heard from the hospital that has Charlie.” 

  


I faked my eyes getting excited. “Really? How is he?” 

  


The other one’s eyes narrowed at me. “He’s as well as can be expected. His injuries were as bad as Dr. Cullen said yesterday, apparently. They assured me that if they hadn’t gotten to him when they did that he may have never walked again.” 

  


I visibly sighed for them. “But he will walk again? He’ll be ok?” 

  


“They don’t know that yet, unfortunately. They were still assessing him when they called. They just wanted to give us an update, since they hadn’t been able to reach you.” 

  


“Oh, ok.” I had run out of things to say. The officer’s eyes were still narrowed at me and it was making me uncomfortable and worried with my performance. 

  


“Are you ok, Miss Swan? Do you need anything?” he asked me, not taking his eyes off of me. “Have you been able to reach your mother?” 

  


I shook my head. “No, Edward and Alice, along with their mother, stayed with me last night. I don’t have any way of contacting my mom, unfortunately. I just have to wait until she calls me.” 

  


“Why is that, Miss Swan?” 

  


I almost yelled at him, asking what business it was of his. “My mother and stepfather are on a trip right now around the US. She got rid of her cell phone and only calls me on payphones. I don’t even know where she is right now.” 

  


He never looked away from me. I asked him to wait a second, and I ran upstairs to get my cell that was still charging on my desk. It was at 40%, so I grabbed it and ran back down. I brought up the voice mail Renee had left me, putting my phone on speaker. I let the officers listen to the message, stubbornly staring, daring them to question me again. 

  


Fortunately, this seemed to appease narrow-eyes, and he changed his expression. They asked me a few questions regarding the night before, and I repeated what Liz had told me. I said I really didn’t know more than that, because I had totally passed out after he had left. I was really stressed, I told them. I was able to display real shock when they asked me if I remembered them coming over the night before. Since no one had told me that, I hadn’t known. 

  


“I took her to her room after Charlie left. She was really upset, as you can imagine, having seen her father in that condition.” Edward walked up next to me, putting his arm around me. I leaned into him, just waiting for all of this to be over. 

  


“Mrs. Cullen, what are your plans now?” the officer asked, looking at Liz. 

  


“Carlisle and I were planning on driving her up to stay with Charlie. We need to get her packed up today, but will get out on the road as soon as possible.” Liz’s face was nothing but calm. I made sure not to change my face at her words, as if I knew she was going to say them already. 

  


The officer nodded. “Thank you, ma’am. Please make sure Charlie calls us as soon as he can. We need to make sure his minor daughter gets to him. Otherwise, we have to track down her mother. She cannot stay on her own.” 

  


Liz nodded and smiled. “Yes, Carlisle already gave the nursing staff instruction to have Charlie call you as soon as he is able to. I promise I will do the same once Bella is with him.” 

  


The officers left after that, and I was grateful. I went back to my now mushy cereal, tossing it in the sink to worry about later. I turned to face the vampires in the room. “I’m assuming you aren’t taking me to see Charlie,” I said, glancing around at their sad faces. “So, where are you taking me?” 

  


Edward stepped forward, putting his arms around me. “We have a few options, love. I wanted you to be awake before we made those choices. Mother says that there are three options we have that won’t cause any issue for us, but Alice can’t see until you make a choice.” 

  


I nodded, only half understanding him. He told me about their powers, but I really didn’t understand exactly how it worked. So, I asked him to go on. 

  


“We have a small house in rural British Columbia that we could go to. We only need to remain out of the public eye for about a year or so, depending on Charlie’s resiliency. We can test his control well before he sees you,” Edward explained. 

  


I thought about living in British Columbia; I had heard it was really pretty. But I also tried to imagine what Edward would mean by a small house. Did that mean it would just be him and I there? Would the rest of his family be there?” 

  


“No, that’s no good,” Alice said, stepping forward. Edward frowned, looking at her. “Try one of the other places, Edward.” 

  


I glanced between them. “Do I get to know why that’s a bad idea? Or are you just going to tell me no and move on?” I raised an eyebrow at them. 

  


“The area of British Columbia we were going to live in has a coven of vampires living close to it. We will draw their attention.” 

  


I nodded. “Ok, then, what’s the next option?” 

  


“We could go to Maine. We also have a house there that we haven’t been to in about a decade.” 

  


“Maine? You want me to move to the entire other side of America from my Dad?” I almost yelled at them. 

  


Edward shook his head. “Charlie will be in Alaska, love. He’s going to be far away from you anyway.” 

  


“No, I do not want to go to Maine. No way. What's the last option?” 

  


“There is a cabin that Carlisle took Mother and I after we were changed. It’s in the Northwest Territories. It’s quite isolated, but we can stock it up with everything you need.” 

  


I considered for a minute; that made it sound fine, I guess. Suddenly, I was tired. Exhausted from everything I'd experienced. I nodded to him, not even trusting my voice. He glanced at Alice, who nodded also. I guess that was the place. 

  


Edward and Alice helped me to pack for my year of seclusion. I couldn’t really think of it in any other way. Charlie was isolated due to necessity, and I guess I had to be as well. If the police thought that I was with him, I had to stay out of sight so that no one would see me without him. Several questions bubbled up in my head, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to ask any of them; I had forgotten Alice’s gift for a minute. 

  


“It’s ok, Bella. You can ask us.” Alice sat on the side of my bed, folding the clothes that I was bringing her, placing them into the suitcase. 

  


“Who is coming with me? Am I staying by myself?” I didn’t look at her. I wanted to find out without making my feelings known. 

  


“Edward to start. The rest of us may join in a few months. For right now, though, the thought is that we had Edward stay with you and your dad in the hospital upstate while the rest of us continued to go to school.” 

  


I nodded, secretly crazy excited that it was just Edward coming with me. “That makes sense. Don't want everyone to think you moved the entire family just to stay near me. No human family would do that.” 

  


“Exactly. So, Edward will drive you away, after signing you up for online school in the state. He'll help you finish high school in the cabin. Once an acceptable amount of time has passed, we’ll all join you.” 

  


I risked a glance at Edward, who was standing in my closet with me. He smirked, his eyes darkening in the dim light of the room. I smiled back at him, when Alice shrieked at me. 

  


“Oh, Bella, please stop that. I really don’t want to see that!” I walked out into the room to see Alice with her hands over her eyes. 

  


I laughed. “Then stop looking, you crazy fortune teller.” 

  


Edward laughed as well, knowing full well what I had been thinking based on Alice’s vision. We continued for some time before I asked my next question. 

  


“What about the treaty? I know Billy broke it already, according to Edward. But what about Carlisle biting Charlie? Has anyone said anything yet?” I glanced between the two, biting my lip again. 

  


“Don’t worry about the wolves, Bella. They understood that they were at fault first; I doubt anything will happen with them,” Edward assured me, touching my back lightly. 

  


“But what do you see, Alice? Do you see anything bad happening with them? And what about Jacob? Does he understand what he did?” 

  


Alice looked uncomfortable for a moment before answering. “I can’t see when the wolves are nearby. Something about them blocks my visions, so I'm not sure unfortunately. As for Jacob, I'm not sure there either. Esme said that the others were restraining him when she left to come back for Charlie. That's the last I heard.” 

  


“We’ll sort it out, ok? Mother and Carlisle will talk with Sam and Billy. Don't worry about it, love.” But I saw worry etched on Edward’s face as he glanced at Alice. Her eyes met his and they sort of stared at each other for a few minutes. 

  


“What?” I said, glancing between the two of them. “What aren’t you telling me?” 

  


Edward looked guilty for a moment, before smiling a sad smile. “According to the other wolves in your house last night, Jacob took off after they restrained him. He found out what happened to Charlie and became enraged, until he realized that it was because of what he did that Charlie was being changed.” 

  


“I don’t understand. Jacob took off?” 

  


“From what I was hearing, it sounded like he was so upset that he cut himself off from the rest of the group. They lost the ability to hear his thoughts when he made the decision. He took off running south, and they couldn’t catch up to him.” 

  


“Wait, hold on. Hear his thoughts? I thought only you could hear people’s thoughts?” I was really confused. Was this mind reading thing going around to others, too? 

  


Edward shook his head. “It’s a wolf thing. When they are in that form, they have a sort of shared telepathy. They can each hear the other’s thoughts. But when Jacob made the decision to leave, they couldn’t hear him anymore.” 

  


“Huh,” I said, thinking hard. That was definitely strange, but what wasn’t strange about the situation I was in? I pushed past it. “But we are sure that Jacob won’t come after you or Esme again?” 

  


“No, Bella. We aren’t sure. That's part of why we need to get you to a remote place. We don’t want Jacob finding Edward.” Alice stood up, and took the pile of clothes in my hands that I had forgotten I was carrying. She turned back to the bed and started folding the pile. 

  


“What about Esme?” 

  


Alice shook her head. “Esme is with our cousins in Alaska. She is well protected. So is Charlie.” 

  


“Wait, did they make it there already? So fast?” 

  


“Not yet, but they are almost there. Probably in the next few hours we’ll hear from her.” 

  


I made a snide comment about how fast they drove, which caused them both to laugh. We continued packing for my journey, but in silence. I had asked my questions, for now. I'm sure more would come later. 

  


Esme 

  


I rounded the bend on the house in Denali trying to clear my head before seeing our cousins. Charlie’s journey had been hard on me. He screamed and writhed, just like I remember Rose and Emmett doing after they were changed. I had hurt for them also, but having my mate do it? That was the purest form of torture. I couldn’t hold back my sadness as I saw Tonya and Irena come out to meet me. 

  


Eleazer and Carmen came up and carried Charlie into the secondary house to the side of the property, while I threw myself at Tonya and Irena, all but collapsing in their arms. 

  


“It’s going to be ok, Esme. Listen to his heart. It's beating strong. Carlisle was in time,” Tonya soothed, holding me a little tighter. I sobbed into her shoulder. 

  


“I know how hard it is to see someone you love go through this,” Irena said, also with her arms around me. “We are here for you cousin. And I promise to keep you both safe, ok?” 

  


I leaned back, trying to calm myself down. “Thank you. I don’t know where else I could have gone. I have to be with him, keep him safe. I don’t know what will happen when the wolves figure out where we are.” 

  


“Kate is running the perimeter now. She'll make sure there are no traces of the mutts getting close to us. I promised we would protect you when Liz called, and we will.” Tonya’s face was fierce. “Let’s get you fed first, though. Carmen and Eleazer will stay with Charlie until you get back.” 

  


I nodded in approval, and we set off toward the Alaskan forest that surrounded their house. We took down a couple of moose easily, and I had to admit that it did make me feel better. But I was really itching to get back to Charlie. I didn’t want him to suffer this alone. 

  


Tonya seemed to understand, and we flew back to the house. Once we were there, I heard his heartbeat and the loud moaning. My own dead heart was crushed listening to him in pain, but I held on to it. I knew he would be fine; Carlisle had assured me that we had gotten to him in time, and I knew his body was already changing. 

  


“I didn’t want this for him, Tonya,” I whispered, standing right outside the door to the cottage. I knew that everyone could hear me. “We never even discussed it as an option. We just loved each other. What if he resents me?” 

  


Tonya came over and put her arm around me. “He loves you, Esme. It's going to be ok; I promise. He may be upset when he wakes, but soon he will release that this means he gets to keep you forever. We all struggle at first, but you come to accept it. He will as well.” 

  


I didn’t say anything, but I pushed past her and opened the door. Charlie was on the bed, and he was still moaning. The pain must have been awful. I walked over to him and tentatively put my hand on his. He didn’t shy away from it, so I kept it there, silently hoping he didn’t hate me when he woke up. 

  


Edward 

  


We stopped by my house to say goodbye, and to pick up my own clothes. Mother had already packed for me, but I made the excuse I needed to get a few things so that I could speak with her privately. Bella walked into the house and immediately hugged Carlisle, thanking him for saving her father. 

  


I left her with my family, and walked up into my room. Mother was waiting for me, sitting on my couch next to the window. I sat down next to her, taking her hand in mine. 

  


“I don’t know if I'm strong enough for this, Mother. It’s so hard to watch her in pain.” 

  


She patted my hand. “I understand, dear. You have to understand that she is feeling abandoned right now. Her father is not reachable, and honestly neither is her mother. She feels alone, and scared. She may not see them again, and she knows that.” 

  


I jerked my head up. “She’s going to see them again. Right?” 

  


Mother shook her head. “Right now, Alice and I can’t tell. Renee hasn’t made any decisions that bring her within reach of Bella; she is very stuck on her own path right now. I see her happy, though missing her daughter. Just not missing her enough to visit.” Her eyes were sad. “As for Charlie? It’s hard to say. A lot will depend on his control and when we feel she will be safe around him. My heart tells me that they will, but you know that it will be some time before that will happen.” 

  


My shoulder’s slumped. “Tell me again. What's the plan here.” 

  


I knew the plan, and she knew it. I just needed to hear her tell me again. “You will take Bella to our cabin and keep her safe. Make sure she continues her online school, make sure she eats and sleeps. You are a doctor, so you can handle most ailments. If you need help, if she gets really sick or something, you can always call Carlisle. He will help you over the phone or refer you to contacts he has in that area.” 

  


I nodded, and she continued. “Once the school year is over, we will make preparations to move. It’s March, so there are only about three months left. We will be there by July at the latest. Everything has to seem normal, waiting until summer to move is the perfect way to do that.” 

  


I hedged over my next question, and she could tell something was wrong. “Just tell me, dear. I won’t judge you.” 

  


“I love her, Mother. More than I ever thought possible. What happens when we are alone together? What about the physical nature of our relationship?” 

  


Is she interested in that? 

  


I thought back to the morning and how Bella had kissed me. I was certain that she wanted more of a physical relationship. I just didn’t know how to give it to her. I nodded at my mother, not wanting to speak. 

  


And it’s something you want as well. I won’t even ask. 

  


It’s natural to want to express your love for someone physically, dear. I know that we never really had that conversation when you were younger, but it wasn’t appropriate when we were human. It simply wasn’t a conversation a mother has with a son. And after, I never saw the need until now. I can explain the mechanics of it, but that would just embarrass us both. 

  


What I will say, though, is that you must be gentle. She is human and breakable. You can do this without hurting her, but you must let her lead. Make sure she is in control, so that you don’t overwhelm yourself. 

  


I hung my head a little more and absorbed what she was saying to me. She put her hand on my cheek, raising my head so I was looking at her. I saw no judgement in her eyes; she smiled at me. 

  


I have faith in you to be exactly what she needs you to be. You will keep her safe. I know it, dear. I trust you; she trusts you. Hold on to that and don’t keep yourself from being happy. She is exactly what you need, as you are for her. 

  


“Thank you, Mother.” 

  


She put her arms around me, and I hugged her back. “I love you, Edward. Keep her and yourself safe.” 

  


“I will.” 

  


I gathered a few of my personal affects – some CDs and books – and went downstairs. Bella was hugging my mother, whispering that she would miss them. I knew they would get to us as soon as they could, but it did represent another loss in her life. I was saddened for my mate, once again. 

  


We made our way to the car, saying our last goodbyes to everyone. Carlisle and my mother came out to walk us to the car, taking my bags with them. Carlisle came over to stand by me, placing his hand on my shoulder. I looked up at the man who I had spent so much time resenting, only to now understand him much better than before. Realizing how hard it was to restrain how much I loved Bella, and knowing that he had done the same with his love for my mother. I reached over and brought my arms around him, hugging him close. 

  


“Thank you, Father.” I thought it would cost me something to say that; but that’s truly what he was. He had loved my mother, kept us both safe and cared for. He had loved me through all that I had put him through. All that I had asked of him. 

  


Carlisle didn’t say anything out loud, but his mind was filled with indescribable love and happiness at what I had said. Mother stepped forward, placing her arms around us both, her mind similar to his. We embraced for a moment before they stepped back. 

  


“Be safe, son.” 

  


I nodded to him, and got in the car with Bella. “Ready, love?” 

  


She grabbed my hand and smiled a small grin. “Let’s go.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, so couple things. First, please remember that I marked this story for future lemons. Yes, they are still coming. My Edward has a lot of the same mannerisms as book Edward, but I feel like with his mother there to guide him, there were some changes in his personality. It’s coming, and it may be different than you expected. Possibly – some of you are super tuned in to the story and keep having prophetic reviews...are some of you hiding Alice’s gift?? 
> 
> Also, in the coming chapters, you will see how different my Bella is, too. These are some of the changes that I personally wanted to make to the original story. You will see when we get there! 
> 
> One other thing I want to address: I am not a super fan of the wolves and their story lines. They will come back, and be important, too, but imprinting, half-breed babies, etc. are NOT in my story. Even when I first read the books that bugged me. Changing stuff, that’s what I’m doing! LOL 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying. I’m hoping to get one more chapter out this week, maybe Friday or Saturday, I'm not sure yet. Thanks to my endlessly patient sister and beta, zombified419. You both rock so much – thank you for helping me with this story!


	14. A New Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again friends! I had wanted to post this yesterday, but the day got away from me. Anyway, here is the continuation. I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 14: A New Life 

  


Esme 

  


The next several hours were pure torture; for me, and for Charlie. He moaned and writhed on the bed, and I could only hold his hand. I knew that if I tried to do anything else it would have made him really uncomfortable. Carmen had called Carlisle and Liz that we had made it; I hadn’t wanted to take the time to speak to them, insisting on staying by Charlie’s side. 

  


When it was obvious that the change was going to be over soon, I exited the cottage and let Eleazer clean Charlie up and get him dressed in new clothing. As soon as I could, though, I went right back. The rest of the Denalis hovered nearby, but not close enough to scare him. Knowing how newborns could be if they felt cornered, I hadn’t wanted all of them in the room with us when he woke. 

  


I listened to his heart race. I cherished it because I knew it would be gone soon. Edward and I had talked many times about the lulling sound of our mate’s heart beats; I knew it was of comfort to him as well. I focused on it, counting each beat and memorizing the way it sounded. I knew I would relive that sound for an eternity. 

  


All too soon, though, it started to slow. One beat. Another. And then, one more. Then there was nothing but silence. I stared into his face, holding my breath. His eyes popped open and stared at me, blood-red from the change. Before I could move, though, he flipped off the bed and ran into the back wall, arms spread out beside him, a look of terror on his face. I held my hands out to him and approached slowly. 

  


“Charlie? It’s me, Esme. I’m not going to hurt you.” I walked closer, very carefully and slow. If I moved too fast right now, I'd startle him and he could either attack me or run away. I couldn’t let either of those scenarios happen. 

  


He stared at me, wide-eyed. I got close enough to touch him, but I was worried about what would happen if I did. He never took his eyes off of me. 

  


“Charlie?” I questioned, not quite touching him. I let all the love I had for him pour through my eyes, hoping he would understand what I was trying to say. 

  


He swiftly moved his hands so they were on my cheeks, cradling my face. “Esme?” His voice had never sounded so amazing. I knew that the change would alter his voice, make it sound more beautiful, but to me it sounded like the love of my life speaking to me. That was what I focused on. 

  


“It’s me, Charlie. I'm here. I never left you. You are safe, I promise.” 

  


One of his hands left my face and went to his throat. I knew the burn he would have after being changed, so I grabbed his hand. “Let’s hunt now, ok? I’ll answer all the questions you have, but you need to be fed first.” 

  


He knew what I was; what we all were. But still, me telling him that he needed to hunt made his eyes go wide again. Though he didn’t respond, he just let me lead him out of the cottage. I knew Tonya and her family were close, but I couldn’t see them. I ignored their presence, and pulled Charlie toward the forest line, taking off toward the smell of a herd of deer. 

  


He ran and kept up with me easily, as I knew he would. As soon as we rounded the corner of a crop of trees, though, he passed me and instinctively landed on a large buck in the center of a small clearing. He took the buck down easily, draining him. Once he was done, he tossed the animal aside, and went in search of more. 

  


I held myself back, emotions swirling as I watched him hunt. He was messy and unpracticed, but it was still amazing to watch. After he had taken down three more deer, he turned to me, wiping blood off of his face. 

  


“What happened?” he asked, stepping toward me but not coming close enough to touch. 

  


“Jacob,” I said, starting to explain. I told him everything that had happened; how he had his accident, how I'd had to run, how the wolves came and stopped Jacob, and how Carlisle had to bite him to keep him alive. He listened to me, clearly shocked. I took a step closer to him, his eyes waivered down to my hands, and then back up to my eyes. 

  


“I’m so sorry, Charlie. I never wanted this to happen. I promise we never would have done this without getting your permission, or at least knowing what you wanted. I didn’t want to doom you to this life as I am. I'm so sorry that I didn’t stop Jacob before he hurt you.” I was almost crying at that point; all of the emotion over the course of the last few days swelling up inside me. 

  


Charlie closed the distance and put his arms around me. He hugged me almost too tight, but I didn’t care. I hugged him back and silently sobbed on his shoulder. “Esme, it’s ok. I know you did what you had to. I just never imagined this life.” 

  


I sobbed harder; hearing him say that was exactly what I'd been fearing. That he hadn’t wanted this, but I had, as I said, doomed him to it. “I’m so sorry. I wish we’d had more time to talk through this. I would have let you go, made the others let you go! I never should have let this happen to you.” 

  


He leaned back, red eyes staring into mine. “No, Esme. That's not what I'm saying. I never thought about it because all I could think about was you. Spending time with you, getting to know you. We didn’t have enough time to get to these topics, that’s all.” 

  


“You-you aren’t mad at me?” 

  


He shook his head, a smile playing on his face. “No, I'm not mad. I...I love you.” 

  


I threw my arms around him again. This time, he picked me up and swirled me around, laughing with me. I kissed his cheek, his forehead, his neck, anything I could get close enough to. He leaned back and brought his lips to mine, and they seared into me. We were the same temperature now, but the heat from his kiss still left a burning feeling. 

  


“I love you, too,” I whispered, leaning way from him. “We have more to talk about, though.” 

  


His eyes widened again. “Bella? Is she ok? Did Jacob hurt her, too?” 

  


I shook my head and told him the missing details. He looked skeptical when I told him she was with Edward in a remote cabin, but he also understood when I told him we had to keep her hidden and safe. Everyone was supposed to believe she was with him, and we couldn’t exactly parade him around either. 

  


“Will I ever see her again?” he asked as we were walking back toward the house. 

  


“I know you will. We just have to make sure that it’s safe first. Neither of us want you to hurt her, right?” 

  


“No, of course not. I wish Renee wasn’t so flakey, as Bella calls it. She should be with her mother right now, not alone with Edward.” 

  


“Edward will keep her safe, Charlie. He won’t let anything happen to her.” I silently fumed at myself. I had let something happen to Charlie; Edward was stronger, though. He always had been. 

  


Charlie stopped and turned to me, putting his hand on my cheek. “Thank you for taking care of my daughter.” 

  


I kissed his palm. “Come with me. I want you to meet our friends.” 

  


I took him through the trees and into the house. They were all sitting in the living room, trying to look the least intimidating as possible, in case Charlie got concerned. He was calm on the outside, but I knew that he sensed a threat in their presence. Tonya, Kate and Irena were in the far couch, Eleazer and Carmen to the side on a separate couch. They all smiled in welcome. I led Charlie to the empty couch, sitting down and pulling him down next to me. 

  


“Charlie, there are our friends, Tonya, Kate, Irena, Eleazer and Carmen. Guys, this is Charlie Swan.” Everyone said hello, but they held back more for us to lead the conversation. I glanced at Charlie; his face was a mask of politeness. I'd see that look before. When he was working, he had a similar look. Stoic so as to not give away any emotion he was feeling. 

  


I put my hand in his, trying to assure him. He glanced at me, but refocused on Eleazer who was leaning toward him. 

  


“Charlie, you have a wonderful gift.” My eyes shot to him. “He’s a kind of shield, but like none I've ever seen before. It's almost like it’s wrapped around him like a bubble.” He regarded Charlie carefully. “Kate, come here for a minute. I want to test something.” 

  


Charlie leaned forward, his face remaining impassive. I smiled at him, trying to reassure him. Eleazer was the best person to be around in this circumstance. I knew he could help Charlie far better than I could, if he could trust Eleazer, that is. 

  


Kate stood up and came over to sit next to Charlie. I shifted away from him, knowing what Kate’s power was. 

  


“Charlie, put your arm out toward Kate. She has the ability to shock people using her hands; Katie, go easy on him though. I'm not sure how this is going to work, and I don’t want to hurt him. I just want to test something.” 

  


We all stared at them as Kate put her hand on Charlie’s arm. Then Eleazer said, “Katie, go ahead.” 

  


None of us were prepared for what happened. As fast as Kate’s look became focused, it became twisted in pain. She tore herself away from Charlie, shifting away from him on the couch. Charlie glanced around at us. 

  


“What happened? Did you shock me? I didn’t feel anything.” 

  


Kate’s face only betrayed shock. “I did, but as soon as I did, I was feeling it. It felt like I was shocking myself.” 

  


Eleazer’s smile was huge. “That’s amazing! Charlie, you are definitely a shield, but it’s almost like you are a mirror. You reflect someone’s power back to themselves.” 

  


Charlie looked uncomfortable for a minute. “Is that common? The power she and I have; is that normal?” 

  


I leaned in closer to him, he shifted so his arm was around me. “You still have a lot to learn, Charlie.” 

  


Bella 

  


I listened to the voicemail from my mother again, for the third time. “She’s in Chicago,” I said to Edward. We had only been driving for a few hours, with several more to go. Mom had left me a message sometime in the middle of the night, which seemed to be her norm now, but I hadn’t gotten around to listening to it yet. Always from a payphone. 

  


Edward squeezed the hand he was holding. “It’s going to be ok, love. We’ll figure out a way to find her. I promise.” 

  


I sighed. Was that really necessary? What would Mom do with this situation that I was in, other than just take me away from Edward. I was already losing my father as a result of this, at least for now, I didn’t want to lose Edward, too. 

  


“I don’t think she wants to be found. And honestly, that’s probably best. Mom isn’t good with weird.” 

  


“But you and Charlie are.” 

  


I shrugged. “Dad and I are more practical. When something is in front of us, we accept it. Mom sometimes has trouble believing her own eyes.” I laughed. “She used to say that your eyes could deceive you. I never understood that.” 

  


Edward was silent then, and I was sort of glad. My mind had really been going all over the place and I really just wanted some time to think everything through. Just one month ago my life had been so different, I couldn’t even imagine going back to then. Ultimately, it was better now with Edward in it. But the fear of the future did loom in front of me. 

  


I had watched who I thought to be a friend turn into a giant wolf right in front of me. Jacob and I weren’t super close or anything, but I'd known him since he was really small. We went way back, as did our parents. He was the one not, what, two or three weeks ago who was scoffing at the legends. Making light of cold ones and wolf ancestors. Now, he was a wolf and I was dating a cold one. It was almost comical. 

  


But what was pressing me, and making me reel internally, was the fact that it had happened so easily. It took almost nothing for Jacob to shift. And it had seemed like it only took five seconds to change Charlie’s life forever. My dad was one of the strongest people I knew. If a simple hand gesture from a giant wolf could hurt him that badly, what chance did I have? 

  


Something inside me sort of churned at the thought. I was already on the edge with everything going on, and that thought absolutely terrified me. I thought back to all of the simple mistakes, clumsy errors I had made for several years. As soon as I had started to mature, I found out that I was not graceful in any way. I tripped over thin air most of the time. Mom always worried about me because I couldn’t keep my footing. What would happen to me if I wasn’t close to Edward and I got injured? 

  


But then another thought hit me, which was decidedly worse than I had thought originally. What if Edward didn’t want to change me? What if he preferred the soft, warm human over a cold vampire...what if that was part of the attraction? 

  


“Everything ok, Bella?” Edward asked, squeezing my hand again. 

  


“I thought you said you couldn’t read my thoughts?” I bit my lip. 

  


He glanced at me. “I can’t. But I'm not dense enough to miss that you are thinking really hard.” 

  


I didn’t want to give everything away. Not yet. I needed to really think through this train of thought first before I brought it up. “I’m ok; there’s just a lot going on in my head right now.” 

  


“Do you want to talk any of it out? We have a long drive ahead of us. I'm happy to listen.” 

  


“Thank you, Edward. Not yet. I'm still figuring it all out. I'm sure I'll have questions for you at some point, though.” He glanced at me, a little disappointed, and immediately I felt bad for not telling him anything. “I’m just upset about losing Charlie, that’s all. I'm trying to figure out how the next year will go without him or Mom.” 

  


Edward’s disappointment turned into a sad, knowing smile. “I understand, love. I don’t want you to worry about the next year or so, though. I will always be here to take care of you, ok?” 

  


The teenager in me reared its ugly head. “I don’t need you to take care of me, Edward. I’ve been taking care of myself for years.” 

  


“No, love, that’s not what I meant. I know you can take care of yourself in most ways. I just meant I'll be there to keep you safe – from the wolves or anything else we run in to. I’ll also be there to make sure you have enough money to eat, have a roof over your head, that sort of thing.” He glanced over at me again. “I don’t want you to think you are in this by yourself, that’s all.” 

  


I immediately felt bad, and apologized. He smiled at me, but turned back to the front of the car and was silent again. I went back to mulling over a decision that was playing in my mind. If I made the choice, though, that meant that Alice would see it. And then Elizabeth would jump in to discuss the decision path. Then one of them would call Edward. So, I hedged. I made sure that no decision was made. 

  


After around 8 hours in the car, I was begging Edward to pull over and let me walk for a little bit. He turned into a small town somewhere in British Columbia so that he could pick up more food, let me use the bathroom, and give me time to walk around. I was sitting on a bench outside of a road-side diner when he walked up to me, his face grim. 

  


“We need to adjust our course,” Edward said, sitting down next to me. He handed me a bag filled with food from the diner, as well as a drink. “Alice called and if we stay on our current course, we will run into some others of our kind.” 

  


I nodded. That was his area; if he thought we should change our course, that didn’t much matter to me. “That’s fine. Whatever you and Alice want.” 

  


“Bella, please talk to me. What's wrong? I know you well enough to know something is going on inside your head. Please, love, I want to help.” 

  


I stared up into his darkening eyes. I had noticed enough that I knew he needed to hunt. I decided to switch the subject. “While I'm eating, why don’t you go hunt? That way you’ll feel better.” 

  


“I’m good. I hunted a couple days ago. It can wait until we are safely in our cabin. And don’t think that you avoided having this conversation.” He smirked at me, giving me a knowing look. Damn vampire memories. 

  


I bit my lip and looked down. “I’m not ready to talk about everything yet. I told you before, I need time to settle everything in my head first. When I'm ready to talk, you are the only one I'll want to talk to. I promise.” I glanced up at him, and his face was passive. 

  


“Ok, I'm sorry for pushing you. It's just really hard to watch you look so upset.” 

  


“Yeah, Mom always did call me her open book. Can't really hide anything from anyone.” 

  


He laughed and pulled me closer to him, kissing my head. “Well, you are the only person whose thoughts I can’t hear; I'd say you hide plenty from me.” 

  


After we left, Edward drove us toward Edmonton, Alberta, which would serve as our detour. It was in the middle of the night, so I really couldn’t see anything. At some point, though, he stopped at a Target and grabbed some stuff so I could sleep better. I had just wandered around with him, on the edge of pure exhaustion, while he grabbed a warm blanket, two pillows, a new book and a new CD. By the time we got back to his car, I was almost asleep on my feet. I laid down in the back of the car with my new pillows and blanket and was out before he left the parking lot. 

  


When I woke up it was early enough that the sun wasn’t out yet. Edward had pulled into a gas station to fill up. I made my way outside, telling him I was going to the bathroom. After that was done, I stretched a little and glanced around the town that we were in. 

  


We were getting gas at a station called Esso, which was right off the road. I couldn’t see much, other than a faint outline of a town not too far away. I saw that we were fairly close to a rental car agency, a steakhouse and a few other buildings, though some I couldn’t tell what they were. My stomach growled, and I glanced around again, hoping for an all-night fast-food restaurant or something. 

  


“We can grab something to eat here in the mart inside,” Edward said, obviously hearing my growling also. “I don’t think any of the restaurants will be open yet in this small town. It's pretty early still.” 

  


We left shortly after I raided the mart to get something to eat. I wasn’t sure I was quite ready to be awake yet, but I did shift to the front seat again. The only thing I was sure about was that I was ready to be out of the car forever. 

  


We were only on the road another 8 hours before finally getting to the cabin. I had a suspicion that he had driven way faster than he should have, but we made it so I didn’t really care. It was a beautiful cabin, larger than I had originally thought it would be. It looked to be single story, and probably about the size of Charlie’s house. We were surrounded by trees, even arriving on a dirt road. I didn’t see any kind of civilization near us at all. 

  


“You were taken here when you were changing?” I asked him, getting out of the car. 

  


Edward nodded, heading back to the trunk to start grabbing our bags. “We were here for a couple years until Mother and I could handle being around humans.” 

  


“It’s beautiful,” I said, taking it all in. 

  


Edward smiled at me as he went into the cabin. He set our bags down in one of three back bedrooms, before going back out to the car to continue bringing in our things. We had stopped at a grocery store before we got there, and he began bringing in the bags of food. I imagined that they never thought to have food in the cabin before. 

  


To make myself useful, I started to unpack the food, placing in inside the quaint kitchen. I noticed that the cupboards were entirely bare as I started to fill them. I was thankful that I hadn’t run into spiders or rats or anything while putting everything away. It was a cabin in the woods, right? Who knew what was living in there? I was cautious, just in case. 

  


Once the food was put away, I started to glance around. The living room was small, with only one couch and one chair. There were no tables, or desks, or lamps anywhere in the room. Edward turned on the overhead light for me, but there was simply no decoration at all. I started wandering and found that – thank god! – there was a working bathroom down the hall. I peaked in to the bedrooms, which were also very sparsely decorated. The first two only had a bed in them, and that was all. 

  


The back bedroom, though, which was the one Edward had put our stuff in, was a totally different story. There was a four-poster bed that looked to be queen size, next to a nightstand, a desk, a bookcase and a dresser. The furniture was all old looking, but still in excellent condition. It felt as if I had walked into a new time – new era – and it was amazingly beautiful. 

  


“Carlisle had a washing machine and dryer installed for us this morning. I'm going to put the sheets in there now. That way you don’t have to sleep on anything dirty.” 

  


I nodded, not really caring much about that. “When was the last time you were here?” 

  


“Years ago,” he said, leaning against the wall of the room. “Before Rose and Emmett.” 

  


“Wow,” I said, looking around before sitting down on the bed. “It’s interesting that you guys have so little furniture. And nothing to eat on, or anything.” 

  


He shrugged. “As a vampire, you don’t really need it. We are just as comfortable standing as we are sitting. We don’t sleep...so, really, there isn’t much we need.” He grinned at me. “And we don’t bring our food back to eat it on a table.” 

  


I smiled back at him, still just not quite myself. “I think I'll make something eat, then probably go to bed. Even though I haven’t moved around a lot, I just want to get some good sleep.” 

  


He nodded and followed me out into the kitchen area. I pulled out some cereal, not really wanting to make anything, and ate quietly. When I was done, I rinsed the dish out and left it in the sink. The cabin didn’t have a dishwasher, so I guess that would fall to me. I sighed and made my way to the bathroom, claiming the need for a few human minutes from Edward. 

  


As I let the water wash over me, I realized that I may be causing him more concern by not talking to him about everything going on in my head. He was following me around the cabin, almost like he was expecting me to bolt or something. I thought about what I would say, and how I would say it as I washed everything. By the time I was done, I was ready. 

  


Edward had other thoughts, though. When I came out of the bathroom dressed in sleep shorts and a thin tank top, he grabbed me, picking me up and spinning me until I was pressed against the wall. His mouth was urgent on mine, and for a moment I lost all coherent thought. This was unusual for Edward; normally, he would let me lead but push back too soon for my liking. He was always controlling himself. This didn’t feel like control at all. 

  


I gave myself over to the moment and enjoyed it while it lasted. I was expecting him to pull away any minute now, but he surprised me again. Instead of pulling away, he started to kiss down my neck, sucking lightly on a sensitive spot behind my ear, as I gasped for breath. He carried me effortlessly to the bedroom, setting me down carefully on the bed, crawling over me. I knew he wasn’t letting his full weight rest on top of me, but it felt wonderful regardless. The evidence of his arousal was hitting just the right spot, causing my brain to go completely numb. 

  


Eventually, though, he did pull away, resting his head on mine. My breath was ragged, trying to figure out how to function after that pleasure filled display. After a few moments to calm down, Edward pulled back slightly and smirked at me. 

  


“I’m sorry, Bella. Your smell is heightened after a shower; I simply couldn’t resist.” 

  


I laughed, kissing him softly. “I will just have to shower all the time then.” 

  


His head came to rest on my shoulder as he laughed. “You are going to be the death of me, I know it.” He brought his face up again and started kissing me, without the rushed feel of the last time. His breath caused my body to go into a panic again, and I started to writhe underneath him, pulling him closer to me. I needed more friction or I was going to implode. 

  


Then, out of nowhere, he was gone. His body was pressed against the far wall, and my body started to cool watching him. His eyes were black and he was almost panting with effort. He did at least look apologetic, though; that was something. 

  


“I’m sorry, Edward,” I said, shame filling my voice. I had pushed him too far again. 

  


“No, Bella. It’s me. I’m, um, I’m going to go hunt. Go ahead and get some sleep; I'll be back before you wake up.” 

  


I nodded, and then watched his retreating form. He closed the bedroom door, and then I rolled over staring out the window. It was too hard to see anything, but I focused on the darkness. Sleep did eventually pull me under, but only after the sadness had enveloped me. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, some of this is normal for “book” Edward I suppose. However, remember, he had a different upbringing in my story. Just hold tight with me my friends! 
> 
> Now, as to Charlie; that was just too damn fun! Midnight Sun tells us that Edward had a hard time hearing Charlie, as if he was a shield similar to Bella. So, I made up how I thought that should be once he was turned. I hope you like it! 
> 
> Turning a corner here, more info and fun in the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who has been reading so far, stick with me! It's bound to get very interesting! 
> 
> Thanks again go to my sister patiently reading and aiding in the story, and my wonderful beta, zombified419, who has listened to me for hours on this story!


	15. The Threat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't lie, I’m a little nervous about this chapter. I hope that you all like it. Remember the differences I said I wrote in Bella? Also, remember when I said lemon warnings? Continue...

Chapter 15: The Threat 

  


Bella 

  


I woke to Edward next to me, holding me close. At least he had come back; that was something. I didn’t have it in me to smile back at him, though, when he lifted his eyes to mine. I wondered, though, if I was like him if he would have stayed with me last night. Of course he would have; the problem was my human blood, right? I sighed and pulled myself out of bed. 

  


“Bella? Are you ok?” 

  


“Yeah, I just need a human minute. Then I want to make something to eat that isn’t cereal.” I didn’t look at him. How could I? I had caused a problem for him last night, I was morose and crabby because of the drive, because of losing my father...I wasn’t really pleasant to be around at the moment. 

  


“Ok, love,” Edward said. He didn’t really sound convinced, but he let me go. 

  


I wandered into the bathroom, brushing my teeth and hair, and using the bathroom. When I got out, I smelled something divine from the kitchen. I walked in to see Edward at the stove, something sizzling. Looked like he was making me eggs and bacon for breakfast. I hurried to go into the kitchen to help him. 

  


“Here, I can finish it. Thanks for starting my breakfast.” I hastened to take over the cooking, so he wouldn’t have to. 

  


“It’s ok, Bella. Let me make food for you. We are going to be here for a while, may as well get used to certain human things, right?” His eyes twinkled at me. 

  


“Uh, ok.” I went and sat down on the chair in the living room, for lack of anywhere closer to sit. I watched him for a bit, but the ringing of my cell phone broke my concentration. I raced into the bedroom to grab it, seeing it was from an unknown number. 

  


“Hello?” I answered, breathless? 

  


“Bells? That you? You ok?” 

  


“Dad! Are you ok? How are you feeling?” I wasn’t expecting to hear from him, so this was definitely a surprise. 

  


“I’m good, Bells. I mean, I think I am. I don’t know.” He laughed, and it sounded different to me. His voice was off, like prettier? I didn’t know how to describe it. “I’m still getting used to everything, I guess.” 

  


“Yeah, I can imagine,” I said, hoping one day I would be able to find out. “Do you feel different?” 

  


“Honestly? I feel great. Like I have all this energy; more than I've ever had in my life. I can run really fast now, too. The, uh, hunting may take some getting used to.” 

  


I laughed, not really knowing what else to say. I listened to him tell me about the process, how painful it was and how it was the clearest memory he had so far. He didn’t remember the accident with Jacob, though he had been told about it. He was concerned that I'd had to witness it, but I was quick to assure him that Edward had blocked most of it. 

  


“I’m just glad that you weren’t in Jacob’s way,” Charlie said, sighing. “I’m glad that I could take the brunt of this, even if it means we are separated for a while.” 

  


“Do you think you’ll be able to be around me ever?” I asked, biting my lip. I knew Edward could hear me, so I wasn’t really sure how to talk to him about me being changed to be like him. 

  


“I don’t know, Bells. Esme says I’m dangerous to you right now; that if I smell human blood, I won’t be able to control myself.” 

  


“You sound pretty controlled right now, Dad.” 

  


“I hunted before I called; and you aren’t in the same room as I am.” Charlie sighed again. “I don’t know how long it will be; Esme said maybe about a year. Possibly two.” 

  


“What am I supposed to do for two years, Dad? It’s not like Mom is around or even reachable.” Edward sat next to me on the bed, reaching out to hold my hand. I leaned against him for support. 

  


“Oh, Bells. I wish I could be there for you. I'm sure the Cullens could track down Renee if you wanted.” 

  


“Edward offered that already. I really don’t think she would be ok with this new world we are a part of, Dad.” 

  


He huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, you are probably right.” He was silent for a minute. “Are you ok? Is Edward taking care of you?” 

  


I squeezed Edward’s hand. “He is, Dad.” 

  


“Let me talk to him for a minute, ok?” 

  


“Sure, Dad.” I handed the phone to Edward, who took it without hesitation. 

  


“Hello, Charlie.” He was quiet for a minute; I couldn’t hear what Charlie was saying, though. “I promise I will. That's my only priority right now...no, of course. We are continuing it online. I’ll help...yes, I’ve taken all of these classes over and over...I actually hold two doctorates, so I think I'll be ok.” He glanced up at me and smirked. “I know, I'll make sure. Give Esme a hug for me, will you? Tell her I miss her...ok, here’s she is.” 

  


I took the phone from Edward. “What were you asking him, Dad?” 

  


“Just to make sure you were safe and continued school. Guess I shouldn’t ask a hundred-year-old vampire if he can handle teaching you high school classes, huh?” He laughed a little. “I’m going to let you go now, though. I want you to eat and get some rest. Edward will help you, ok? Make sure you stay with him.” 

  


“I promise, Dad.” I sniffed, trying not to cry. “I’ll miss you. Make sure to call me when you can, ok?” 

  


“I will, Bells. Love you, kid.” 

  


“Love you, too, Dad.” 

  


I ended the call and set my phone down on the nightstand. I leaned into Edward again, just needing to mull everything over. 

  


“Come on, love. Your food is getting cold.” 

  


I made my way back to the living room and ate what he made without really tasting it. I assured him it was good, but my heart wasn’t in it. He knew I was wallowing at this point. He made a point to talk to me, ask me questions, deter my brain from focusing on everything. Eventually, I'd had enough. 

  


“Look, I get that you are trying to distract me. But I really don’t need that right now.” 

  


He smirked at me, leaning his head closer. “Are you sure?” 

  


He was dazzling me. Like he always did when he was this close. “I’m sure. I’m going to go take a nap. Maybe we can take a walk after lunch?” 

  


The disappointment was clear on his face, but he still smiled. He leaned over and kissed my forehead. “Get some rest, love. I’ll be here when you get up. I’ll make you lunch and we can go for a walk, ok?” 

  


I nodded, and wandered back into the bedroom. Laying down on the bed, I stared at the ceiling. There were many things going on in my head. The first was definitely the biggest. My mortality. Everything that had happened with Charlie just proved the point I had made in my head: I needed to be turned. Just like him. Just like Edward and his mother. It was the only way to keep him, and to keep me safe. I hadn’t had any injuries lately, so I was definitely overdue. There had to be a way to convince Edward to change me. 

  


The second – albeit a smaller part of my head was on this one – was Charlie and this situation. I guessed that living in a cabin alone with Edward was fine. I just felt sort of out of my element. There was no school, no freedom, no book stores or libraries. I was literally in the middle of nowhere. 

  


Which led me to the third one: Edward. We had only been together for a short time, really. But the fact that I was already thinking about being turned so that I can stay with him. Sure, a lot had to do with staying with Charlie, but most of it was him. I loved his family already, and, if I'm being honest with myself, I was in love with him, too. We had a connection I couldn’t ignore, and I knew that I needed to figure something out about that, too. 

  


I tempted him; that much was obvious. He would only kiss me for so long before he left and cowered near a wall on the other side of the room from me. How could we be together if he couldn’t stay that close to me for long? Honestly, that led me right back to issue number one. 

  


Finally, when my stomach started growling, I stood up and went back out in the living room. Edward was reading a book on the couch, and looked up as I approached. 

  


“Did you get some sleep, love?” he asked, with a knowing look. He could tell I hadn’t slept. 

  


Rather than answering, I shrugged. I walked into the kitchen, making myself a sandwich. “We still good to take a walk?” 

  


He put the book down, and was instantly standing next to me, kissing my forehead. “As long as you still want to.” 

  


I looked outside through the thick trees. “Are there, um, bears out there?” 

  


Edward threw his head back and laughed. “Trust me, Bella, I'm scarier than any bear. Or really, any other animal that’s out there.” 

  


“Wait, are you...bears?” The look of shock on my face must have been hilarious, because he kept laughing. “How the hell do you hunt bears? Is it even hunting season?” 

  


He smiled at me, all of his teeth showing. “I don’t need weapons to hunt. And I definitely don’t need a hunting license.” I shivered at the thought, and Edward chuckled. “Finally, a rational response. I was beginning to think nothing would scare you.” He brought his hands up to my cheeks. “I promise to keep you safe, ok?” 

  


I nodded, finishing my sandwich. I wandered over to the front of the cabin, putting my shoes on and grabbing my jacket. It was still pretty cold outside, even though it was the middle of the day. Edward walked behind me until we were outside, then he grabbed my hand, leading me toward the woods. We walked in silence; somehow, he figured that I wasn’t in the mood to talk much. 

  


After a while I let go of his hand. The brush was fairly thick, and I needed both hands to get through it in some parts. I could see a light in the distance, so I figured we were getting close to an open area. Right as I was close enough to see a meadow, my foot caught on a tree root, and I fell, hands bracing my fall. Edward was next to me in a second. 

  


“Bella, are you ok?” 

  


“Um, ouch. I think so. My hands may be scraped up. Maybe my knee, too.” I let him help me up, and I really did think I was fine until I put weight on my foot. “Ouch, fuck!” I yelled, picking up my foot. 

  


Edward picked me up and rushed me to the meadow, setting me down carefully. He inspected my foot, rolling it around in his hands. The cold of his hands actually helped the pain. 

  


“You didn’t break it, but you may have sprained it. It's hard to tell if it’s a sprain or just twisted.” 

  


Suddenly, my heart started racing. This is it. “Edward, you have to change me.” 

  


His eyes flew to mine. “What?” 

  


“You have to change me! We are out in the middle of nowhere, I couldn’t possibly hurt anyone out here. It's perfect! You need to bite me, now!” He continued to stare at me. “You need to bite me like Carlisle did for Charlie.” 

  


That was what I needed to say to pull him out of his shock. He swiftly picked me up and started carrying me back to the cabin. He glanced down at me, rolling his eyes. “It’s a sprained ankle at best, Bella. For that reason, you want me to change you?” 

  


“It’s a sprained ankle today. Tomorrow it’s cancer, or a heart attack, or massive brain injury or something! If you don’t change me, I'll die someday. You have to, or we won’t be together.” I was playing all my cards now. 

  


“We are not having this conversation, Bella.” 

  


“Why is that, Edward? Because you don’t want to spend forever with me?” 

  


His mouth was in a thin line. “You know that’s not how I feel.” 

  


“Do I?” I was sticking to this stubbornly. “You haven’t said anything. But, if that that, then why? If this is my choice, why can’t we talk about it? Why do you get the final say in what I want to do with my own life?” 

  


He glanced down at me. “I don’t want this life for you.” 

  


“Instead, you want me to die.” 

  


He stopped walking. I knew I had made a dent in his resolve at that comment. He sat down on a fallen tree, but didn’t let go of me. “When Carlisle turned me, I was really angry,” he began, settling me in his arms a little more comfortably. “I didn’t want to accept what he had done. I didn’t want to be the monster that I saw in him. My mother had convinced him to save me; she was trying to protect me, and even as a human she had a good sense of character. She could tell who someone was very quickly. 

  


“When I woke from the change, I was angry. I could hear his thoughts; I could tell how much he loved my mother. It made me angry because my father’s death hadn’t been that long before, and I didn’t want her to be with anyone else. But I was angry with him for years because of the choice he made.” He smiled down at me. “I’ve grown a lot since then, and I forgave him. I realized that when you find someone that you love you do anything you can for them. Even if it means at a cost for yourself.” 

  


He brought his hand up to my cheek, and kissed my forehead. “I don’t want this life for you. I remember being so angry at him that I could hardly look at him. If I change you, what if you look at me like that? When you are turned into a monster, you don’t have full control. Thoughts and reason are not a part of your life for some time. I can’t stand the thought that you would hate me because of this choice.” 

  


I shook my head. “I’m choosing this, Edward. I'm asking you to do it. I don’t want to live without you; without Charlie.” 

  


He stood up and continued walking back to the cabin. He was lost in thought, I could tell, so I didn’t press anymore. I had gotten issue number one out at least. 

  


Just as he was setting me down on the couch, his cellphone rang. He answered it swiftly. 

  


“Yes, Mother?” He listened for a minute, then he raised his eyes and looked at me. His contemplative expression was morphed into pure terror. “When? Where?” 

  


“What is it?” I asked him. 

  


“Tell them to hurry; I'll keep watch, I promise.” He hung up his phone and sat down next to me, carefully picking up my foot and placing his cold hands on my ankle. “We have a problem.” 

  


“What? Is it Charlie? Is he ok? Is Jacob back?” I couldn’t handle another problem! 

  


“No, there’s a small coven of people like me. Alice saw them running toward our cabin. They will be close enough to smell you, and they will come and investigate. Mother said that the only choice where we all end up happy is the lead vampire needs to be killed.” 

  


“Wait, what?” 

  


“Mother saw the choices ahead of us. If I leave with you now, they will find us faster. If we do nothing, they could...hurt you. Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett are on their way to us now. They will take out the leader of the coven, and the rest will probably scatter. They will be here before they are.” 

  


My mind swirled again. “Change me now. If I'm changing, my blood won’t smell as good to them. If we do it now, there’s no way they can pose a threat to you or me.” 

  


“Bella, you don’t know what you are asking.” Edward stood up and began pacing. “This isn’t the life I would have chosen; hell, most of us didn't want it. I don’t want you to feel this way...the way I do.” 

  


“How do you feel?” 

  


“Like a monster,” he whispered, sitting back down on the couch and leaning against the back. 

  


I crawled over to him, ignoring the sharp pain in my ankle, and settle myself on his lap, straddling his legs. “You aren’t a monster, Edward.” I kissed the hand that covered his face, then gently pulled it off. Once his eyes met mine, I said, “I love you. And I know I don’t love a monster.” 

  


He smiled and circled his arms around me, bringing me closer to him. I rested my forehead on his. “You are my life now, Bella. I love you more than anything.” 

  


I brought my lips down to kiss him, needing more contact. His lips seared into my body, causing heat from within me to start building. His arms tightened and brought me closer to him, as I shifted. I could feel him starting to get hard at the close contact, and the friction was delicious. I moved on top of him slightly, and he moaned in my mouth. I traced my tongue on his lips and he opened his mouth to me – being careful to cover his teeth with his lips. 

  


I drank him in. His smell, his taste...the way he felt underneath me. Every part of my body was screaming for more – more friction, more of his tongue, just more. I ground on top of him again, and this time his moan came out as almost a growl. He swiftly picked me up and carried me into the bedroom, setting me down in the middle of the bed. He laid down on top of me; his mouth never left mine. 

  


Feeling emboldened, I reached down and pulled my shirt up, breaking contact with his mouth to take it off. I tossed it on the floor as his eyes got wide, staring down at me. He swallowed and brought his hand up to my breast, touching the fabric lightly. He brought his lips down to my neck, hand palming my breast, and started to kiss down my chest. When he got to where his hand was, he growled again, and yanked my bra off of me. It shredded, and he tossed the mess to the floor. 

  


I was about to scold him about ruining my bra, but all thought stopped when his tongue hit my nipple. Instead, I moaned at the contact, pushing my chest toward him more. I was on fire, and only he could help. Everything that I had been mulling over in my head was completely gone. All thought and reason, gone. All I could hear, see or feel was Edward. And he was everywhere. I felt him on every single part of my body; but it wasn’t enough. 

  


I reached back and pulled his shirt off, he moved slightly to let me yank it off; the shirt ended up on the growing pile of clothes on the floor. He ground into me then, eliciting shocks of pleasure through my body, and I moaned as he sucked my nipple into his mouth. He pulled back slightly, eyes black and his hair a mess already. He glanced at me, carefully gauging something. Whatever he saw, made him continue. He unbuttoned my jeans, and slid them off slowly. I was panting by the time he was done. 

  


I reached down to help his pants off next, eventually getting them off using my feet. We sat there, clad only in underwear, staring at each other about two feet apart. Edward came closer to me at that point, wrapping me up in his arms, and bringing his mouth to mine. I enjoyed the feel of him on top of me, especially skin to skin. The fire raging inside me was only getting stronger. 

  


Quicker than I could fathom, he flipped us so that I was on top of him again. “I need you to lead, love. I don’t know if I can control myself,” he whispered, kissing me again. If he wanted me to lead, I was completely fine with that. This was one of the issues in my head, right? Being with Edward? Yeah, I was ok with this. 

  


I slid his boxers down, revealing his hard length. I stared at it for a few minutes before I finally became bold enough to slip my hand around him. I brought him to my mouth, slowly slipping my tongue out and tasting him. Edward growled again, and grabbed me, bringing me up to his face. He kissed me, but didn’t stop there. He continued to pull me until my center was right over his face; I almost whimpered at the thought. But as soon as his tongue touched me, I was almost weeping. I rocked on top of his face, hands grabbing the bed frame to keep me steady. He licked as though he was entering me, and then he brought his tongue to my clit. I jerked at the contact, and he glanced up questioningly. 

  


“Don’t stop. Whatever you do, don’t stop,” I whispered, concentrating on what his tongue was doing to my body. He was wrecking me. His tongue was sliding through my folds and causing the fire to burn even more. I was alight with sensations, as all my nerve endings were sparking. The sensation was growing, and I could feel heat pooling in my stomach. Without warning, I fell over the edge. I was a moaning, writhing mess on top of him, but he held me steady. I rocked and shoved my body down on him forcefully, and he never let me go. 

  


If I hadn’t been so excited to finally have him inside me, I may have collapsed right there. But I wanted to give him what he had just given me. I slowly crawled down, and lined myself up with him. He kissed my forehead, my cheek, my ear and down to my neck. When he circled his tongue on the sensitive part of my neck behind my ear, I finally broke out of my stupor and grabbed him, lining him up with my body. 

  


I slowly sank on top of him, knowing it would hurt. I decided to rip the Band-Aid off, and just get him all the way inside me. I was shocked at the feel. The pinch of pain, the uncomfortable pressure...but overwhelmingly, I felt whole. Like being joined together was what I needed to feel complete. I looked down at Edward. His eyes were closed, his hands out to the side, sharply ripping the sheets. I put my hands on his arms, and ran them down carefully, grabbing his hands and bringing them up to my hips. 

  


He opened his eyes and focused on me. I leaned down and kissed him, still not able to move as I got used to him inside me. He squeezed the flesh of my hips, but didn’t move at all. Finally, the pain started to ebb, and I shifted a little to see how it felt. Edward’s eyes rolled back and he moaned again. 

  


“I don’t know how to do this,” I said, feeling slightly ashamed. “Can you help me?” 

  


His eyes flew open and he smiled at me. “I don’t either, love. I've never done this with anyone before.” 

  


“Really?” 

  


“I told you I hadn’t loved anyone before you. I meant it. I will tell you that when you moved a moment ago, that felt wonderful.” I moved again, like I had before, and he groaned again, tightening his hands on me. 

  


“Like that, Edward?” 

  


“Yessssssss,” he hissed, while his eyes rolled back again. So, I moved again, feeling only pleasure, the pain was gone. I continued to move and his groaning got louder. 

  


I was feeling bold now; like I had complete control over him, and the pleasure he was experiencing. Like how he probably had felt earlier. I took this and decided to make it bigger. I sat upright, and started to shift up and down using my knees. 

  


“Oh, god, Bella....” 

  


I had made the right choice. He wasn’t looking at me, but I smirked anyway. The fact that I could make him feel this way was going straight to my head; my ego was growing as he was growling. I shifted my hips in a small circle, eliciting another moan out of him. My ego swelled a little more. Finally, I felt him growing inside me, and his ragged breath and moaning was getting louder. I leaned over him, continuing to circle my hips, and I kissed him softly. 

  


“I love you, Edward.” 

  


With another moan, he shoved himself inside me roughly, pulsing for several moments. His arms moved up to encase me, hugging me tightly to his body. I kissed his cheek, down to his neck, sucking on the skin near his shoulder. For several minutes, he didn’t move; he just held me tightly to him, still inside me. 

  


Finally, he did let me go, but not far. He laid me down carefully on the bed, and got up rushing to the bathroom. He brought out a washcloth, which he used to clean me up, before shifting the blankets so that I was covered. He did crawl inside them with me, though he had a strange look on his face. 

  


“What is it? Was that, I mean, did I do ok?” 

  


He laughed, kissing my head as he curled up behind me, arms draped over my stomach. “Did you do ok? Bella, that was the most amazing experience I've ever had in my very long life. You were much more than ok, love. Ok feels like an insult compared to how fantastic that was.” 

  


I shifted to look at him, and his eyes met mine. “But you are sad?” 

  


He kissed my nose and smiled. “No, I'm not sad. I am feeling a little guilty, though.” 

  


“Uh...” 

  


“I come from a different time. A time where a man married the woman he wanted to be with. He courted her, asked her father for her hand in marriage, and then got married before making love to her. It feels like it’s against my principles to have done that with you.” 

  


I was taken aback. Of course, I knew this to a degree. I figured that because he was born in the early 20th century that maybe his ideals were different, but why the hell would he do this with me if he felt like that? When I asked him, his eyes became wide. 

  


“No, Bella, I wanted this with you. It's nothing about you or how wonderful that was, or anything like that. What I'm trying to say is that I should have married you before I did this.” 

  


“That’s stupid.” I crawled out of bed, locating my clothes and putting them on. “It’s the same thing as the argument we had coming back from our walk. You are taking this relationship as if it’s one-sided. As if I have no say in anything that happens to me.” Suddenly, I was furious. “It’s not 1918 anymore, Edward. I'm not a docile woman waiting with bated breath for a man to ask for my hand in marriage. I'm not going to sit here and let you dictate my entire future.” 

  


I finished getting dressed, and stomped out of the bedroom, slamming the door behind me. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so wait, hear me out. Edward was encouraged to do this by his mother, but it doesn’t change who he is that much. What this Edward does, that book-Edward doesn’t, is listen to his inner man more. Mom said it was ok, he wanted her anyway...right? 
> 
> Also, as to Bella, I’m sorry if this is to OOC for you guys. But sometimes I just get frustrated at the “making decisions for her” portion of the books. Hell, New Moon was entirely him choosing for her! Anyway, ok, I’m calmer now haha. Had to get that out. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope that this was ok for all of you. Just remember, this is just my version of the fandom. I hope you will all be nice in your reviews no matter what :) 
> 
> Thanks to my sister and my beta, zombified419, for prereading for me. Love you both!


	16. The Fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I just want to say, thank you to everyone who is reading and reviewing! I understand that some of you were upset about Bella’s reaction to Edward’s admission. Just remember, she is still a little immature. For better or worse, she is still a teenage – as is he. He just has a few years of BEING the teenager, where she hasn’t. Regardless, hopefully this chapter is better for you guys. Carry on.

Chapter 16: The Fight 

  


Edward 

  


I watched Bella run out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Immediately I felt guilty and stupid for what I had said. Those were sentiments I should have shared with her before we’d made love. Before giving myself to her completely. I knew that it was a response to the situation we were in. Mother had been insistent that we not leave the cabin, that the danger this coven presented was high. I knew Bella was upset about Charlie, and the fight we’d had earlier. I felt like I took advantage of her. 

  


The ringing of my cell phone brought me back to reality. I shifted out of the bed, grabbing my pants off the floor, fishing through the pocket to grab it. I saw it was Alice. 

  


“Don’t be an idiot,” she said, when I answered. “She wanted this too. If you do what you are thinking all you will do is make her angrier.” 

  


I sighed, slipping my underwear on and then my pants. I sat down on the bed, ignoring my shirt for now. “I made her feel guilty about this. I have to say or do something.” 

  


“Asking her to marry you as a result of guilt is stupid, Edward. You are going to scare her, make her feel like what just happened wasn’t wonderful for you. That you are so guilt ridden you feel like you have to marry her as a result. All this does is make the fight last longer.” 

  


I heard my Mother in the background. “Edward, be smart about this, dear. Don't make her life any harder than it already is...already will be.” 

  


My ears perked up. “What do you mean, ‘will be?’ What else have you seen?” 

  


Alice sighed, and Mother was quiet again. “This coven that’s nearing you guys. If you go outside, I see them killing Bella.” 

  


“But Jasper, Rose and Emmett are on their way, right? They are going to take care of the coven?” 

  


“Only in part. I see them only killing the leader. The others are different and will pose a threat to Bella in the future. Well, one of them anyway. One will actually help us, if Liz is right.” 

  


“Wait, how does Mother know? Doesn't she need to be close to them to see...” I pressed the phone tighter to my ear. “They were in Forks, weren’t they?” 

  


“Yes, Edward. They arrive shortly after you two left. They are following her scent to where you are.” 

  


“Why didn’t you tell me sooner, Alice?” I said through my teeth. “Bella is at risk. I could have driven faster to get her here.” 

  


“They are taking their time; winding around Canada making their way up there. It wouldn’t have mattered; the timeline is the same.” 

  


I shook my head; I needed to focus on Bella right now. The coven issue would be fine as long as I kept her inside. “What do I do? Not about this coven, because we can deal with that later when everyone gets here. What do I do now about Bella? I’ve made a mess of everything.” 

  


Alice handed the phone to Mother then. “This is the choice we talked about, dear, before you left. You made a choice to be with her; now it’s up to her. You are not allowed to make decisions that affect her body. When it comes to the conversation of her changing, that’s inevitable at this point. Alice and I both see it as if it was clear as day, so there’s no way to get around it. What you must understand is that it’s her life. She has control over her own body. It's not right for you to choose her path for her. 

  


“As for now, this is on you. You both made the choice to be together; your words hurt her, I'm sure of it. You must fix it by telling her the truth. The reality is that you should have discussed this with her before you were intimate. But remember: you both have a say in what happens. It's not only on you, or only on her. Do you understand what I'm saying?” 

  


I sighed again, thinking that I was an absolute idiot for what I had done. “If we mutually made the decision to be together, then we both have to deal with whatever aftermath comes. Yes, I understand. But, Mother, I don’t want her to have this life. What if she resents me?” 

  


“It’s her choice, dear. Not yours. You have to trust that your mate is strong enough, and smart enough, to understand the consequences of this life. That she loves you enough to keep loving you even after.” 

  


I bowed my head in defeat. She was right, and I knew it. I screwed up royally. I could only hope that she would forgive me. 

  


Bella 

  


I paced around the living room. I was supposed to be happy right now; thrilled, even. But Edward’s comment had really pissed me off. It was like he was trying to make me feel guilty for stealing his virtue or something. If I hadn’t been so mad, I may have laughed at how crazy that sounded. 

  


I was still pacing when I saw that Edward had joined me, leaning against the wall fully dressed. I didn’t know what to say, so I just stood there staring at him, letting him make the first move. 

  


“Bella,” he began, pushing his hand through his hair, not moving from the entrance to the living room. “I want to beg your forgiveness. I was horribly rude in my behavior today.” 

  


I waited. Which part, Edward? I silently seethed to myself. Finally, I realized that I couldn’t hold it in anymore. “What are you sorry for? Telling me that I'm now allowed to make decisions about my own body, or by trying to make me feel guilty after we had sex?” 

  


“Yes. Both, love. I just spoke to my mother, and she made me understand a few things. Made me realize how horribly I had treated you.” He stepped forward, but not too close. Like he was trying to keep his distance from me. “I have no say in what you choose. I love you, and I will support you. If you want this life, I will tell you the good and the bad...all the consequences that come from this choice. I'll help make sure you understand everything so that you can make an informed decision.” 

  


I narrowed my eyes at him. I was still mad, even though I understood and appreciated what he was saying, I still couldn't stop the anger from rising up. “And if I choose to do this? Would you change me?” 

  


He closed his eyes. “I don’t know if I can.” 

  


“Because you don’t want me to have this life.” 

  


“No, Bella, that’s not why.” He opened his eyes and walked closer to me. “I don’t think I’d be capable of stopping.” 

  


I stood staring at him; stunned. “What do you mean? I thought you said you had control over your thirst for human blood.” 

  


He looked frustrated as he took a couple steps closer to me. “It’s...I do, for the most part. But it’s your blood. If you were to be that close to me, your blood on my tongue...well, I don’t believe I'd be capable of stopping.” 

  


He was hedging around something, I could tell. “What aren’t you telling me?” 

  


“Your blood calls to me more than any other human. Carlisle said that it’s called a ‘singer,’ and it’s quite rare from what he understands. It means that your blood calls to me more than any other person would.” 

  


I sat down on the couch, still stunned. “Why wouldn’t you have told me this before?” 

  


I watched him walk closer, sitting on the edge of the couch. “I didn’t want to scare you. I am in control of it, love, I promise. I wanted you as a person more than I wanted your blood. Mother helped me after the first time I met you to control it.” 

  


My eyes grew wide. “That’s why you were angry with me the first day you met me!” 

  


He nodded. “I was angry because you were there; that you would pose such a huge threat to me and my family, because I didn’t think I'd be able to resist you.” 

  


I couldn’t find any words to say, so I listened as he described his hunt with his mother, what she told him about our future. And how he had decided to befriend me, because he trusted her fully. I couldn’t believe he hadn’t told me that; I might have been more careful. I scoffed at myself; I never seemed to have control around him. And suddenly I realized that it didn’t matter. If he had told me, would I have acted any different? Probably not. 

  


I sighed in defeat. “I understand why you didn’t tell me that. But it’s the same as the cell number thing, Edward. You can’t keep things from me. You can’t lie to me. You and I cannot work at all if you do that.” I shifted over so I was sitting next to him. His smell wafted over me, and I found that once again I couldn’t control myself as much as I thought I should. I moved so that I was straddling his legs, and his arms came around me. 

  


I rested my forehead on his. “You have to tell me things so we can make decisions as a couple. If you didn’t want to have sex before marriage, that’s something you should have said. I don’t want to force you into something you aren’t ready for, or don’t want. I love you, dammit. We are in this together, Edward.” 

  


He nodded into my head, tightening his arms around me. “I’m so sorry, Bella. I got carried away and I couldn’t stop. I didn’t want you to feel rejected, and I was thinking like a man, not a hundred and some odd year vampire. But you are right; I should have been clear to you about how I felt. 

  


“I love you, too, Bella. So much that it consumes me. I lost sight of my morals for a moment when you were that close. You overwhelm me, love.” 

  


I snickered, leaning back so I could look at him better. “You do that to me, frequently. Silly vampire. You have to tell me stuff. I’m not the mind reader!” 

  


He smirked. “I will, from now on. I promise.” He kissed my nose. “I’m sorry, love.” 

  


I sighed. “I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have just stomped out. I should have talked to you, not just got angry and left.” I frowned a little, choosing my next words carefully. “Do you regret what we did?” 

  


He lost his smirk pretty quickly. “Only in that I wish we had been married first. Otherwise, no, love. Not at all. It was the best experience of my existence. I loved being with you like that; feeling you everywhere...being connected to you like I never have before. It was amazing for me.” 

  


Not having any words to say, I leaned in and captured his lips. He kissed me back fully, tongue sliding on my lips. I groaned and leaned into him even more, want spreading through my body like a raging fire. All too soon, though, he pulled back. His face was frustrated. 

  


“Hold that thought, love. My siblings are close. I can hear their thoughts.” 

  


Edward 

  


Bella and I separated, and I ran into the bedroom to clean up quickly, so as to minimize what they smelled when they walked in. Bella walked over to the kitchen, making herself a snack. I walked back in the living room, just as Emmett burst through the door. 

  


“Hey, little bro...Bells.” He glanced around, smirking. I could hear that I hadn’t cleaned up well enough, because he knew exactly what had been going on. “What’s been going on? You two having a good time?” 

  


Bella turned around, pointing a spatula at him. “Shut up, Em.” 

  


He laughed, walking over to her and putting her in a bear hug, lifting her slightly off the floor. “I missed you, you big trouble maker.” 

  


She smirked at him as he put her down. But she sidestepped him and ran over to Rose, hugging her tightly. Rose smiled at her and wound her arms around her, too. “We’ll talk later,” Rose said, holding Bella close. 

  


As was normal, Jasper stayed sort on the outside edge of the group. He was under control, but always worried that he wouldn’t be for long. Because of that, he didn’t want to get too close. Instead of greeting Bella the way the other two did, he leaned against the far wall, next to the door, and looked at me. 

  


Liz and Alice said that they will be here within an hour or two. We made it here as fast as we could. I nodded in understanding. 

  


“Bella, that coven that Mother warned us about. They are closer than we originally thought. They will be here soon.” I glanced up at my brother. “What should we do, Jazz? What's the plan?” 

  


Everyone shifted to look at my brother. We all trusted him to figure out the best way to handle the situation. He stood up, taking a step closer to us. “Rose, Emmett and I will head them off. When they get closer, we’ll meet them and take care of the leader. He is the primary focus for this attack. Alice saw that one would escape, and the other would join us once the leader is taken out.” 

  


“Jazz, I think I should go with you. Rose can stay with Bella; you may need me on the field with you.” I knew that being able to read their minds would be key. I needed to be there to eliminate the treat against Bella. 

  


He nodded slowly. “I assumed you would want to stay with her, but you are right, Edward. It's better if you are with us.” He looked at Bella. “Are you ok with staying with Rose?” 

  


She nodded, arms still around my sister. “Rose will keep me safe. You need Edward’s mind reading out there; he should go.” 

  


Rose looked up at me. I’ll protect her with my life, Edward. I promise. I love her, too. 

  


I nodded in response. Bella walked back into the kitchen, Rose following, to finish making her food. I walked closer to Jasper, Emmett following me. 

  


“What did Alice say about their abilities? Do they have any?” 

  


“The one that will get away has a talent for escape. The leader, though, that’s the real problem. He's a tracker. When he smells Bella close, he’ll want her. We have to take him out before he poses that kind of threat.” 

  


I took in what he said, fear gripping me. Tracker. I fished my cell out of my jeans pocket, and brought it to my ear. 

  


“Hey, Edward. They made it, right?” Alice said, answering the phone. 

  


“Just once it would be nice to call you and have you just say hello, Alice,” I teased her. “Yes, they made it. We switched up the plan-” 

  


“Yes, I know. It's better that way. I see you being able to handle this guy faster now. Just make sure you don’t try to follow the one that escapes. That makes things worse later, according to Liz.” I heard her shuffling in the background, sounding like she was grabbing papers of some kind. “Carlisle and Liz just forged some paperwork on Charlie’s condition. He was able to call the police headquarters in Forks this morning, and it seems that he was able to convince him of how bad his condition is. But we need to follow it up with some paperwork.” 

  


“Thanks for the update, Alice. How is he? Esme?” 

  


“Good. Great, actually. They are all impressed with how well he is handling this whole thing. Eleazer was telling us about his gift...” Her voice carried off and she became quiet. 

  


“Alice? What did you see?” 

  


“Edward, you need to go now! They are within five miles of you. They already smelled Bella in a meadow near the cabin.” 

  


I cursed at myself. I hadn’t thought to cover our tracks from her injury earlier that day. “She fell earlier. I bet they smell that.” I glanced up at Jasper and Emmett; they were nearing the door already. “I gotta go, Alice. Watch out for us and let me know if anything changes, ok?” 

  


“I will, Edward.” 

  


I hung up the phone, and walked over to Bella. I kissed her softly. “I love you. I'll be back before you know it. Stay with Rose, ok? She’ll keep you safe.” 

  


She threw her arms around me. “Keep yourself safe. Promise me!” 

  


“I promise, love.” 

  


Bella 

  


I walked the three of them out of the cabin, and my heart started beating fast. I was nervous for them; hoping that things went according to Alice’s thoughts. I glanced up at Rose, who was smirking at me, leaning against the counter. 

  


“So, what have you been doing since you got here?” She had a knowing look on her face, which caused me to blush. 

  


“Nothing, really. Not much to do here.” 

  


“Bella, we are going to be sisters someday. You can talk to me.” Rose took a step closer to me as I scooped my omelet off the skillet and onto a plate. “I can tell that you and Edward were, um, intimate.” 

  


My eyes shot to her. “What? How can you tell?” 

  


“I can smell it.” 

  


My blush grew rapidly then, and I pushed away from her, walking into the living room to sit down on the couch. She sat down carefully beside me. “Oh god,” I said, covering my eyes with my hands. “This is so embarrassing.” 

  


“One thing to get used to with this family, Bella, is that none of us have privacy. Think about it! Liz knows all of the possible decisions we could make, Alice sees them once we make them, Jasper makes us feel all warm and squishy about them, and Edward watches the whole thing in each of our minds.” She put her hand on mine, pulling it away from my eyes. “Don’t be embarrassed by loving your boyfriend and being with him. I just want to make sure you are ok.” 

  


“My mind is sort of going all over the place right now,” I confessed, taking a bite of my food. “I never thought I would enjoy something so much, but he sort of made me feel guilty after. Saying he should have married me before we did it. And then I stomped out of the room like a two-year-old. We talked, though, and he understands that we should have had that conversation before we went that far. And I apologized and everything. 

  


“I don’t know, Rose. I feel like he wants me, and doesn’t want me, at the same time. He is barely even willing to discuss the option of me changing into a vampire.” 

  


Rose’s eyes got wide at that. “Is that something you are considering?” 

  


I nodded, not meeting her eyes. “I want to stay with him forever. With my father, too. If I stay a human then I'll die someday and the rest of you would have to go on without me. It doesn’t seem fair that you guys get everything you wanted, while I have to remain a fragile human.” 

  


“Bella, listen to me. None of us got what we wanted. Not one damn one of us. We all adjust to what we have now, but it’s not perfect.” 

  


“I don’t understand.” I looked into her fierce eyes. “You all seem so happy.” 

  


Rose shook her head. “I wasn’t always. Did Edward tell you how I died?” I shook my head. “That’s nice of him; probably letting me tell my story. I won’t go into full details, but I was happy as a human. Elated, actually. I was dating someone that I loved, and I saw it all with him. Love, marriage, children, grandchildren. But one night when he was really drunk, he attacked me, with four of his closest friends. Carlisle found me after they had thrown me in the gutter to die. They used my body in ways I didn’t know possible at that time. 

  


“I was angry when I woke up after the change. I didn’t want this life. I wanted a marriage and children, with grandchildren someday. I wanted to find someone who loved me, who wouldn’t hurt me as he had; someone to grow old with. It was better once I found Emmett, but I realized that we would never grow old together. Never be more than what we are. 

  


“Liz actually helped me a lot over the years. She would pull me aside and tell me about my choices. That I could remain bitter and angry, or I could find a way to accept what I was. She told me that my future happiness and friendships relied on my choosing to accept my life. We would talk for hours on end, and finally I did feel better.” She looked down for a minute. “I accepted what I have, Bella, but it’s not what I wanted.” 

  


“I’m so sorry, Rose. I had no idea.” 

  


She shook her head. “It’s not a story I enjoy telling. But I wanted you to see that none of us got what we wanted. All Jasper wanted was to be an officer in the military. He was attacked and changed by a sadistic vampire building a vampire army; he was drafted into her ranks for almost a century before he finally left. 

  


“Esme wanted a family, like me, children, grandchildren, everything. She threw herself off a cliff when her little baby died. Liz thought she would grow old with her husband, Edward’s father. Edward thought he would be an officer in the army, too, helping to stop World War one. 

  


“Emmett and Alice are probably the most content, as they don’t remember much from their human lives. And Carlisle knew he wanted to be a doctor. The three of them are who they want to be, but they feel the constraint of our lives as the rest of us do. We will always be this.” 

  


I took in everything she had said, feeling the ache of loss for herself, Jasper, Esme...everyone. “I guess I didn’t really understand.” I sighed. “I just don’t want to lose my family, Rose. You guys are all I have, including Charlie. I want to be with all of you forever. I don’t want death to separate us.” 

  


She surprised me by leaning over and hugging me. “I just want you to think about this before you make a decision. Make sure it’s what you want, because you can never go back. I love you like a sister already, so do the rest of the family. We will accept your choice, Bella, but I don’t want you to make this decision in response to Charlie being turned, vampires out to get you, or sleeping with Edward.” 

  


I hugged her back, enjoying the comfort that my new family brought me. “I promise.” 

  


Edward 

  


We tracked them to the meadow like Alice had instructed. I left my complete trust in Rose to protect Bella, but I had to admit it was hard to leave her. I just wanted to wrap my arms around her and hide her somewhere safe. Make sure nothing touched her. But my brothers needed me more. 

  


Thinking about a special time recently, Edward? Emmett laughed at me in his head. My little bro is finally a man. 

  


“Shut up, Emmett,” I said, copying Bella from earlier. He continued to laugh in his head. I shifted to Jasper’s thoughts, and blocked Emmett out as much as I could. 

  


I’m impressed by your strength, Edward. I’m not sure I could have done what you did with Bella. 

  


“Thank you, Jasper. I didn’t feel very strong at the time.” 

  


She’s alive, Edward. That's huge. I'm happy for you both, I'm just amazing you had the strength not to kill her. 

  


I winced at his words, but didn’t comment. My mind was still focusing on the tiny details of being with her. I should have been trying to hear the vampires headed our way, but I couldn’t. I could still feel her on top of me; I could hear the moans that came out of her mouth...everything about being with her had been amazing, but I hadn’t been lying when I told Jasper I hadn’t felt strong in that moment. I felt powerless to her. Like she owned me entirely, and I was seconds away from losing all coherent thought. 

  


Dude, seriously. You are going to distract me. Think about something else! I heard Jasper almost shout in his head. I muttered an apology and tried to reach out to see if I could find the coven heading toward us. It didn’t take long; they were closer than I thought. 

  


“I can hear them. Alice and Mother were right; there are three of them. James, Victoria and Laurant. James is the leader, though he’s falling back a little in hopes that we think Laurant is the head of their coven. Victoria is already plotting ways to escape. She must be the one that gets away.” 

  


I whispered quietly to them all that I was learning by listening to their thoughts. I didn’t want the coven to hear, but soon I stopped talking because they were simply too close. I saw them enter the meadow on the other side, slinking through the surrounding fog like predators in a bad movie. I tensed immediately as I heard James scoff at us, thinking they would easily be able to take us. 

  


As I predicted, though, Laurant was in the lead. He stepped forward again, arms raised. “We mean you no harm. We were simply searching for a delicious scent surrounding this place. We are hungry, that is all.” 

  


“The human is with us. She will not be your next meal,” Jasper said, taking a step closer, mirroring Laurant’s actions. “We ask that you leave before we are forced to defend her.” 

  


Her? Interesting. There's something protective that they feel for this human. I heard James say in his head. He crouched down, inhaling a deep breath. I saw that he could smell Bella, and his mind went into overdrive on how much he wanted her. I mirrored his actions and growled, protective of my mate. I was taken aback at how happy my actions made him. 

  


I will have a game of this, then. He will try to stop me. This is excellent. I was hoping for another sport today. 

  


I growled at him again. Emmett, sensing that I wasn’t going to stop, took a step forward. Victoria flitted to the back of the group, edging toward the forest. Her eyes were wide in alarm as she took us in. Laurant, though, didn’t move at all. His eyes were on Jasper, not even acknowledging that   
Emmett and I were there as well. 

  


We stood there staring at each other for a moment, but I couldn’t stand still for long. I glanced at Emmett, and he said “Go!” in his head. We launched at James at the same time, slamming into him from both sides. Emmett grabbed him around the neck, securing him in place, while I swiveled and kicked him right in the head. It wasn’t enough to detach it, but it gave Emmett what he needed. He tore the head off swiftly and then we ripped and tore, tearing him apart together, as though it was a well-rehearsed dance. He was destroyed before the others knew what was happening. 

  


As Emmett lit a fire and started to throw the pieces of James in it, I glanced around. Victoria was nowhere to be seen, but Laurant had shifted over, getting away from the fire. His hands were still up in caution, but he wasn’t thinking of running. Jasper approached him, warily. 

  


“You are not upset that we destroyed him,” my brother said, standing within two feet of the new vampire. “In fact, you are relieved.” 

  


Laurant nodded, eyes focused on the fire next to him. “I have been thinking for some time about distancing myself from James and Victoria. But I didn’t want his wrath. I have never seen anyone quite like him in my three-hundred-years. I knew he wouldn’t let me survive for long after leaving them.” 

  


“But you are not tied to Victoria, either. Her leaving hasn’t caused you any distress.” 

  


Again, he nodded. “I have no ties to them.” 

  


Jasper reached his hand out, his eyes careful. “Join us. We would like to show you our way; how we live. You can be of great help to us.” 

  


Once the James-fire was fully secured, I opted to return to the cabin. Jasper and Emmett were continuing to talk with Laurant, but I wanted to check on Bella. Make sure Victoria hadn’t circled back around to the cabin. 

  


I walked in finding her and Rose on the couch, deep in conversation. Bella jumped at the door opening, and she stood up, running over to me. She threw her arms around me, and I picked her up, relishing in the comfort that she always brought me. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that this was a little back and forth, but it was the only way I could figure out to tell the story the way I wanted to. So, Edward should have talked to Bella and Bella shouldn’t have acted the way she did. I hope that you guys understand them both a little more. 
> 
> Also, I loved writing this interaction between Rose and Bella. Bella, being young as she is (and also in love), may be romanticizing things a little. She needed a little piece of reality. And because I wrote Rose as a nicer character, it seemed appropriate for her to be the one to tell Bella. What did you guys think? 
> 
> Thanks again to my sister for prereading, and my beta for always being there to help me with the story. You guys are so great!


	17. Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again friends! To those reading in the US, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday weekend! And here is the next step in the story. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 17: Aftermath 

  


Bella 

  


I was sad to see Jasper, Emmett and Rose leave. Once the fire had stopped – which was sort of disturbing to think about, actually – they hung out for a bit, but left after a day maybe. The other vampire wasn’t allowed in the cabin, just in case, so I only really saw him from a distance. Jasper was convinced that he would be fine, but it was an abundance of precaution keeping him away from me. 

  


When they left, Rose gave me another big hug and a smile. I thanked her for being there for me, and she smiled telling me that she just wanted me to be happy. She did give me a lot to think about, though. And I was sure that it was going to linger in my head for a while until I made a final decision. 

  


Edward and I went about our days after that in sort of a haze. He helped me get set up with the online school, so that started consuming my days. It was fine, it just wasn’t what I wanted to do. I felt isolated and trapped; even though I was with Edward, I still wanted the ability to roam around and go places. I couldn’t be seen anywhere, so that was impossible. 

  


I spoke to Charlie often. He seemed to be doing well. He spoke of getting to know the Alaska coven, learning about his gift and how to use it. When he first told me that he had a gift I was shocked. I hadn’t expected that, since Edward thought they were sort of rare. But Charlie had one, and he was working on controlling it. Apparently one of the Alaksa coven was good at helping vampires with gifts. I thought idly if I would have a gift, but I didn’t voice anything. Edward had been better about the concept of me changing, but I didn’t want to push it. 

  


We hadn’t continued our physical relationship. I didn’t know how to talk about it, and he never brought it up or started anything. I stayed frustrated, because I was trying to figure out how to talk to him about it. I knew his thoughts on marriage, which was not something I wanted yet, and I knew that I had pushed him in a direction he didn’t want to go. I was trying to be respectful of his feelings, but at the same time I missed being with him. 

  


About a month after his siblings left, we were sitting doing our normal routine of me doing school work, and him reading, when I finally got fed up. 

  


“You aren’t going to touch me again, are you?” I demanded, raising my eyes to his. He looked at me with wide eyes. He brought his hand up to my face, stroking my cheek. I shook my head. “That’s not what I meant.” 

  


“I don’t know if I can, Bella. I almost lost it the last time. What if this time I do? I think we should wait.” He sighed, putting his book down. I set my laptop down also, shifting so I was facing him while he did the same. “I want to be with you again. I mean, of course I do! Being with you and expressing physically what you mean to me was an amazing experience. I want to do this every day. But I don’t want to hurt you.” 

  


“What makes you think that you will? The last time was fine. No issues, actually, except the fight afterwards. It was wonderful for me; I just feel like you don’t want me anymore.” I bit my lip. That made me sound like a pathetic child begging for attention. I looked down at my hands in my lap, embarrassed that I hadn’t censored my thoughts better. 

  


I felt Edward’s hand on my chin, raising it up so I could look at him. He had shifted closer to me on the couch. “Never think that, love. I want you every single day.” 

  


“You are beating yourself up for sleeping with me, though, aren’t you? Because we should have been married first.” I didn’t ask, I knew. 

  


His eyes betrayed that I was right. “I’m trying not to. It was a choice we both made, and I do not regret it. But, yes, I would have preferred that we get married first.” 

  


“Why didn’t you just tell me that, then, Edward? You are talking about not wanting to hurt me, when you and I both know that’s wrong! We were together without any complications, and you tell me that line of crap? Really?” Suddenly, I was angry again. I closed my eyes taking a deep breath, not wanting to be angry or have another fight. 

  


When I opened my eyes, he was staring at me, inches from my face. “In truth, love, I fear both issues. If I lost control, just once, I could kill you. I also worry that I may have damaged your soul by stealing your virtue.” 

  


That’s when I’d had it. “For god’s sake, Edward! My virtue? Are you kidding me?” I stood up and walked away from him. “First, you assume that I care about my virtue or my soul, or whatever. Just because you haven’t grown past the early 20th century, doesn’t mean that I have that same concern. Not only is that thought outdated, you are taking all responsibility off of me! I made the choice, and I stuck by it. You could have chosen to stop me, but you didn’t.” 

  


I stared straight into his eyes, standing a few feet from the couch. “We both could have stopped. We didn’t, and now we deal with it. If you believe that you just damned my soul because we slept together before marriage, then I honestly don’t even know how to talk to you. Maybe we are just too different, Edward. Our ideals don’t match.” 

  


He stood up slowly, eyes wild, reaching out and placing his hands on my arms. “What are you saying, Bella?” 

  


“Part of being in a relationship is communication, right? Well, the other important part is that you both need to be on the same page. We should have similar thoughts, or at least similar ideals, like marriage, kids, where to live...we don’t share similar thoughts on anything.” I looked down again, concentrating on what I was trying to say. “I know we love each other Edward, but maybe it’s not enough.” 

  


When he didn’t say anything for a few minutes, I raised my eyes to his face. He looked stoic, like I hadn’t said anything at all. I heard his cell ringing in his pocket, but we both ignored it. He stared down into my eyes, not moving, facial expressions staying firm. We stood there for a few moments just staring at each other, not willing to break contact. When his cell phone rang again, though, I disconnected myself from him. 

  


“I’m going to go take a nap. Answer your phone, since clearly, it’s important. I’ll be out in a couple hours so I can make dinner.” I started walking toward the bedroom, my mind clear finally. “Don’t bother making it for me; I can manage on my own.” 

  


I closed the door firmly, knowing that it wouldn’t matter if I locked it; he could get in regardless. I just hoped that he would respect my privacy while I mulled over what I had just done. I laid down on the bed, curling on my side. 

  


If we were in just two different places, maybe what I said was the right thing to do? My chest burned and ached as I thought of separating from him, though. I couldn’t imagine my life without him in any way. But I also couldn’t keep doing this. He and I were born at very different times, and for him to expect me to conform with his ideals was crazy – but, if I'm being totally honest, it’s wrong of me to do the same. I had no right to force my own ideals onto him. 

  


Which took me right back to: we are just not in the same place. I didn’t want to get married for a long time; he seemed to want it much sooner. I wanted to continue our physical relationship; he wants to get married first. I want to handle things on my own, only asking for help when I need it; he wants to take care of me, do everything for me. 

  


As I thought more and more about everything, I came to a grim determination that I had been right. What I said was right. I loved him with my entire soul, but some things can’t be settled just because you love someone. We both had to compromise in order to work it out together, right? How in the hell were we going to do that? 

  


Edward 

  


I stared at Bella as she walked down the hallway, and my dead heart broke with every step she took. When my cell rang the third time, I finally was able to answer it. 

  


“Hello, Alice.” I said into the phone, knowing for sure it had to be my sister. 

  


“What the hell did you do, Edward?” she snapped at me. 

  


“I don’t think that I did anything, other than be honest with her. You and Mother both told me I had to do that; I needed to tell her how I felt so we could talk things through. She said that maybe love wasn’t enough for us, because we are so different.” I sat down on the couch, hoping like hell my sister could help direct me to how to fix this. 

  


Alice sighed. “I have no words of wisdom for you. Liz needs to be closer to you both to help; she never saw Bella choosing this, because it wasn’t an option before. Or, maybe, it was just a faint choice that she couldn’t see it to the end.” 

  


“What did she choose, Alice? What did she see?” 

  


“Bella is wavering, actually. She hasn’t made a hard decision yet, but there are two possibilities that are going on in her head.” 

  


“What are they?” I demanded. If I had any hope of fixing this, I needed to at least understand the outcome and what she was really thinking. I cursed again that I couldn’t hear her thoughts. 

  


“I’m not telling you.” 

  


“Why the hell not?” 

  


“Because, Edward, you two should talk. It's up to you both to fix this, if it’s even possible. I'm not telling you all the secrets so you are armed with knowledge you shouldn’t have. Go in there and talk to her, damnit! That's how you find out!” I could almost see Alice rolling her eyes at me. “You take this kind of risk in a relationship; even a vampire one. Yes, you are mates, but does that make it a forgone conclusion that you will always be together? That you won’t go through hard times? She is human, so I think not. You can’t expect her to feel as deeply for you right now; humans are simply not capable of that.” 

  


I growled at her. “You have no idea, Alice. Bella feels things deeper than anyone I have met in my life. She is selfless and kind, and strong. She will fight for those she loves. She loves me deeply, I know. I have felt that from her.” 

  


“Then what are you waiting for, Edward?” 

  


Evil little pixie had a point. She got it out of me, just like she knew she would. “Bye, Alice.” 

  


I walked to the back bedroom, knocking on the door slightly. When Bella didn’t answer, I opened the door a little. She was curled up on her side on the bed, with her back to me. Without a second thought, I laid down next to her, putting my arm around her. I could hear her breathing and tell she wasn’t asleep. 

  


“I have to beg your forgiveness again, Bella. I never meant to make you feel unwanted; or feel like your ideals or wants in life didn’t matter. You are right, though. We do have to communicate; we have to compromise. We love each other, and we can do that. But I need to start by opening up to you more. I am dreadfully sorry for holding back.” 

  


She sniffed, bringing her hand up to her eye to wipe away a tear. “I do love you, Edward. But I just don’t understand how we can be together when we are so different.” 

  


“Like you said, communication, love. We need to get much better at it.” I held my breath as I smelled her arousal start to swirl around me, making me hard instantly. In the last month, I had ignored this; settled on loving her from afar until I could marry her. She was right, though. We had made the decision together to be intimate, and I was now making another decision for her. I pressed my body into hers. “Also, I'm tired of holding myself back. I want to feel you again, my love. I've been dreaming of it, and holding myself back wasn’t the right way to handle it. We have already crossed the bridge I thought I couldn’t until after marriage; I do not want to wait any longer to have you again.” 

  


She shifted in my arms, looking at me. “Don’t say that just because you know that’s what I want. You can’t do this with me and make me feel guilty about it afterwards.” 

  


I pulled her leg over mine and ground into her again. “I want you, Bella. I won’t feel guilty about it. I can’t when you feel so wonderful. I promise. I just want to be with you again.” 

  


She raised her eyebrow at me. “Sex doesn’t solve all of the other problems that we have right now, Edward.” 

  


“I know, love.” I leaned down and captured her lips. “But it helps us start the communication we need, right?” 

  


I was rewarded with a groan, and a throaty “Edward”, and I got impossibly harder. 

  


I ground into her again, and watched in satisfaction as her eyes rolled back into her head. Before she could blink, I had my jeans, her shorts and our underwear off, not even bothering with anything else. The need I had for her was coursing through my body and I couldn’t wait any longer. I shifted so she was on her back, and I looked at her to make sure she was ok with this. She smiled and then bit her lip looking up at me. 

  


My hands wandered down her body, feeling her skin pebble under my touch. Her eyes got even darker as I touched her breasts, before sliding down and circling her clit softly. I wanted her to fall apart when I was inside her, so I didn’t spend much time in the current position. I moved my hand back up, touching her face slightly with the back of my hand, staring into her eyes. 

  


Without hesitation, I slipped inside her. As her overwhelming warmth engulfed me, I felt my eyes roll back. I concentrated on the feel of her, being cautious to be gentle while starting to move inside her. The heat wrapped around me was making all my nerves live wires. Like everything was on fire, but in a good way. I leaned down and captured her lips in mine, and she kissed me back with a passion. Her hands settled on my back, pulling as if trying to get me even closer to her. 

  


“I love you, Bella. I love you so much,” I whispered in her ear when I finally released her lips so she could breathe. “I am so sorry; I will never do that again. Please tell me that you love me; that you want to be with me.” 

  


I felt her tongue lick the side of my ear. “I am with you, Edward. I love you, just as much, if not more. Just...oh god...just keep loving me just like that.” 

  


And then I lost almost all of my coherent thought again, as I continued to move inside her. Her breath was ragged, her eyes – when I saw them and they weren’t closed – were wild with lust. I decided that Bella like this was the most open and emotional part of her. She was free to express everything. She never really shied away from things before, but I really felt her openness like this. 

  


I felt her clamp down on me, pushing her chest into me even harder, and I completely lost it. Her unraveling beneath me was the best thing I'd ever experienced, felt, or saw. I lost myself shortly after that, resting my forehead against her shoulder, just inhaling her beautiful scent. We stayed like that for a few minutes, before I disconnected us, and brought her new clothes to wear with a sheepish expression. She didn't say anything, but the smile she gave me as she settled on my chest, before she slept, told me everything I needed to know. 

  


Carlisle 

  


I had known that Alice and Liz had been working with Edward on improving his relationship, and I was trying to stay out of it. Honestly, I knew that he didn’t want me involved, and I was trying to respect that. Everyone in the family would seek out Alice and Liz for advice because of their gifts, and many would come to me if all they wanted was an ear. Alice and Liz were for decisions, paths forward. I was the ear – the person who would listen without judgement. Edward never came to me until he found this human. 

  


I was trying to respect his privacy, and not question too heavily the comfortable place we had finally gotten to when he left for the cabin. I did not want to put a strain on the relationship. Which is why I was so surprised when he called me out of the blue one day. 

  


“Edward? Is everything ok?” 

  


“I think I messed up, Carl-Father. I need some advice.” 

  


I was so surprised that I didn’t respond right away. He asked if I was still there, and it broke me out of the stupor I was in. “Yes, I’m here. What can I do to help, Edward?” 

  


He explained the situation with Bella, even that they had been intimate. I understood where he was coming from with the whole marriage thing, having come from a time when that was essential just as he had. The concern I had in the conversation is that Bella had been contemplating ending the relationship, and Edward had chosen to sleep with her instead of really talk it out. 

  


“Son, I want you to really listen to what I'm saying.” 

  


“I will, I promise. That's why I called you. I really need help.” 

  


I smiled at that, since he had only ever come to me once before. “You cannot fix all of your relationship problems by sleeping together. Yes, I know that was one of the issues, that Bella wanted to again, but you must talk to her. Tell her everything you are thinking and feeling, and she must do the same with you. She may be happier now, but if you do not truly bare everything then you will never be able to resolve this fully. It will hang over both of your heads until one of you gets pushed too far.” 

  


I heard Edward sigh. “I knew that was dumb. I just realized that I had been holding myself back and that wasn’t good for either of us. Father, I've never wanted anyone, physically, as much as I want her.” 

  


“I understand, Edward, truly I do. When you are in the presence of your mate, it is often hard to hold yourself back. Please, try to open up to her and talk. Do this as much as possible and you will mend this riff between you, I know you will.” 

  


“Thank you, Father. Truly. I appreciate your help.” 

  


After we hung up, I was still thinking about the changes in him since Bella came into his life. It was an amazing thing for me, since all I had wanted for years was for him to see me as a father figure, though I knew I would never take over fully for his true father. I loved him as a son, and I loved his mother beyond anything else in the world. I had just wanted to help him. 

  


As I was sitting in my office, I overheard Emmett and Rose talking about the coven they had helped disband, and I got me thinking about when I heard what they were going to do, before leaving. When I heard Liz and Alice discussing killing this vampire in a coven we had only met briefly; I raised my concern with my wife. We were enjoying each other one afternoon, while everyone else was out of the house, and I confronted her. 

  


“I don’t like the thought of killing another, Liz,” I said, kissing her hair. Her head was leaning on my chest, her hand stroking my arm. “It feels wrong to seek him out to kill him, rather than give him a chance.” 

  


“I’ve already told you about the paths, Carlisle. If we don’t kill him, then overwhelming sadness will envelope us. When I made the choice to not send anyone up there, Alice saw that he would kill Bella. None of us want that. But when I made the choice to send Rose, Emmett and Jasper, the sadness went away and they were all happy. Bella is safe for now.” 

  


“For now?” I shifted so that I could see her better. “What do you mean for now?” 

  


She shrugged, looking up at me. “I can’t see every facet of the future, you know that. There could always be something that shifts later and creates new options that could lead her to be in trouble. For now, though, she will be safe. They will get there soon and take care of the problem.” 

  


She seemed entirely unphased by the course of action, but I was still troubled. Of course, I didn’t want Edward to lose his mate, or Charlie to lose his daughter. I just never liked the idea of killing without providing a chance at redemption. But, like always, I trusted my wife to make the right decision. 

  


Liz had been right about them getting to the cabin soon. Before we knew it, the fight was over and it had happened exactly as Alice had said it would. I never voiced my concern again; I just trusted Liz and Alice to lead us all down the right path. By the time Rose, Emmett and Jasper got home, with a newcomer trailing behind them, I was satisfied that I could live with the choice we had made. 

  


Laurant was around the same age as me. It turned out that he had grown up in France around the same time that I had been in London. We chatted for a while, before he ultimately determined that he was uncomfortable living this close to humans. We tried to teach him our way of life, but it was hard on him. I knew it would be; he was set in his ways and hadn’t found his compassion for humans yet. 

  


Liz and Laurant went on a hunt together, and by the time they came back he had made his choice. He was going to join Esme and Charlie with the Denali clan. Liz assured me that it was safe for him to be there, out in the middle of nowhere without humans close enough to pose a concern. She saw that he would be happy there, and that was good enough for me. 

  


Three weeks after Laurant had left to make his way to Alaska, though, everything turned. I had just come home from another shift at the hospital when Liz and Alice approached me. Jasper, as always, hovered behind Alice, but so did Rose and Emmett. Immediately concerned, I glanced through the group. 

  


“What happened? Is it Bella? Charlie?” I mind swirled with possibilities. 

  


Alice shook her head, taking a step toward me. “Victoria. The part of the coven who got away. She's made a decision.” I took another step closer to her, putting my hands on her shoulders. She was visibly shaking. “She’s creating an army. She's fueled by anger at losing her mate.” 

  


I glanced at Liz. “I thought they weren’t tied like that?” 

  


Liz shook her head. “They weren’t. James didn’t care about her, but she never knew that. She was fully devoted to him. I saw that much in the choices she was making around him. Jasper felt her connection to James, but knew it wasn’t reciprocated. We all thought Victoria would be of concern, I just had no idea she would do this.” 

  


I looked back to Alice. “When, Alice? How much time do we have to prepare?” 

  


Her eyes glazed over. “If she stays on this current path, then we have about three months. Four, maybe, if she can’t get the numbers she wants.” 

  


“Wait, what kind of army?” 

  


Jasper took a step forward. “Newborns.” 

  


Now it made sense. Why Jasper seemed to tense, why Alice looked like she could cry, and why Emmett looked fierce. A newborn army headed for us was nothing to scoff at. I remembered the newborn armies that Jasper had been a part of, though of course I hadn’t known him at the time. I remembered the devastation they had brought to the southern states and into Mexico. The thought of a newborn army this close to Forks was terrifying. 

  


“Where should we go?” I moved over to Liz, knowing she would have the right path forward. 

  


“We need to choose two paths,” she said, leaning her head against my chest. “We need to talk to the wolves again. I can only see a positive outcome if we bring them into this. Second, we need to all pack up and go to Edward and Bella as soon as possible. We cannot have this army come close to town; the cabin is the best place due to the isolation it provides.” 

  


“Why do we need the wolves involved?” I asked her, dreading the answer. Unfortunately, she verbalized the fear I had. 

  


“She has too many. Or will, by then, according to Alice. We need more people to help us.” Liz glanced up at me. “There’s something else, a little more hidden, but it’s after the fight with the newborns. I can’t see it clearly yet as it’s a remote possibility. I am sure as we get close, I'll be able to see it more clearly. The fact is, though, we must make those two choices and fast. We cannot delay in leaving, but we must speak with the wolves before we go.” 

  


Trusting her as I always did, I sat down on the couch and pulled out my cell phone, calling Sam Uley on the reservation. He was surprised to hear from me, but was amenable to meeting up to discuss a new threat. He was a smart man who thought things through carefully. Though they had never said anything about our treaty, we all just assumed it was still in effect. We made arrangements to meet at the treaty line the next afternoon. 

  


I was wishing Edward was with us by the time we got there. It would have been nice to know what they were thinking at that moment. Jasper said they were all on edge, but not overtly dangerous at this time. I took that as a good sign, and allowed Liz to take the lead in explanations. They were all in shock by the time we got to the newborns. 

  


“Wait, so they are coming here?” a boy in the back said, stepping forward. “We can’t let that many blood suckers near the town!” 

  


“Quil, stop,” Sam commanded. Quil took a step back, looking down. “You said we had another choice to make? What was that?” 

  


“We need to find a more remote area for this to happen. We have a cabin in the Northwest Territories, close to the Alberta boarder. If we all choose to go there, then we will be in a better area for this fight. We can keep them away from the population of Alberta if we draw them north of our cabin into the woods. Not many live there. It's safer for the humans if we do that.” 

  


Sam nodded, his face passive. “And I assume that you are telling us this because you want us to join you?” 

  


Liz nodded. “I feel that we can take them out easier if we work together.” She took a step forward, but made sure to keep her distance. “If we don’t work together, the result could be disaster for all humans in their path.” 

  


Sam glanced behind him, and excused the tribe. They all went behind some trees and I could hear them shifting. They must be conferring with each other on the decision that needed to be made. Again, I wished that Edward were with us. I glanced over at Jasper; who’s eyes met mine. He shook his head, indicating that he couldn’t feel anything coming off of them that would be bad for us or the decision. 

  


After a few minutes, they all reemerged. Sam took a step toward my wife. “We will fight with you. Let's make plans on when we leave and where we are going. I cannot leave the town unprotected, so we will not be bringing the whole pack.” 

  


I nodded. “That’s a wise choice, Sam. You should leave three or four here at minimum. The rest of the pack can come with us. You have about, what, ten or twelve now?” 

  


Sam’s eyes widened. “How did you know that?” 

  


“We haven’t been honest with you about a few things. Let's sit and chat for a while about what my family can do. Then we can make some decisions. Ok?” 

  


He reluctantly sat down, staring at me. I dove into the explanations of all of our gifts, and by the end of our discussion, he was ready to work on a plan. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, the happy couple is having issues. But is anyone surprised? You can’t ignore a problem in the relationship and expect it to go away. You also can’t solve everything with sex. Unfortunately, now that there is a new threat, that may take focus. We’ll see, yeah? Next chapter should be interesting. 
> 
> I hope that you are all still enjoying my little story here. Leave me a comment and review please! I’d love to hear from you! 
> 
> PLUG: Please take a look at my all-human fan fic in progress Consuming Love. It is a companion piece to Inappropriate Love, so you may want to read that first! 
> 
> Thanks again to my sister and my beta, zombiefied419, for prereading! Love you both!


	18. Preparations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, folks! For those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope it was a wonderful socially distanced day! At least, I hope it was as good as it could be. 
> 
> I want to say thank you to everyone for reading my story, and all the wonderful comments. Some of you have very valid points about Bella and Edward and their relationship. Let’s get to the next step, shall we? Lots going on. Enjoy!

Chapter 18: Preparations 

  


Bella 

  


I woke up slowly, not remembering where I was at first. I felt cold, hard steel wrapped around me and it took me a few minutes to realize that it was Edward. Then it all started to come back to me. I was in a cabin, hiding out with my boyfriend who had decided it was ok to continue to have sex. I felt my face heat in a blush as his arm started stroking mine. 

  


“Good morning, love,” he said, shifting up and kissing my head. I rolled over so I could see him. “Why are you blushing? Not that I don’t enjoy it...” He smirked at me. 

  


“I was remembering last night.” I lowered my eyes, hoping that he wouldn’t change his mind again. His emotions were sort of giving me whiplash; but we had been together several times and the last few, anyway, he hadn’t seemed like he was regretting anything. Still, after the first time and the horrible fight we had, I could never be too sure. 

  


He leaned down and captured my mouth. “Maybe I live to make you blush like that,” he whispered in my mouth. I groaned and kissed him back. He pulled away too soon, though, which reminded me of how he had been before the cabin. “But we need to get up and moving. Everyone will start showing up today.” 

  


I sighed...that’s right. Crazy, vindictive vampire was out there creating a damn army. I had almost forgotten. I looked up at Edward. “We won’t have any alone time anymore.” 

  


His eyes looked sad when they met mine. “Not for some time, no. I’m sorry, Bella. I have enjoyed our alone time as well.” 

  


I kissed him again, but made it quick. I got up and grabbed some new clothes, heading into the bathroom. “I’m going to shower. How much time do we have before everyone gets here?” 

  


“Mother said they would be here after lunch.” He smiled at me. “Want me to join you in the shower?” 

  


I rolled my eyes. “That’s a dumb question. Of course, I do.” 

  


So, that’s how I ended up being pushed up against the hard tile wall, my boyfriend slipping in and out of me while I tried not to scream in pleasure. I knew he said they weren’t going to arrive until after lunch, but that damn vampire hearing made me nervous. I didn’t want anyone to be that close when we were like this. Edward was still very cautious with me. I could tell he was holding back, but maybe that was ok. After the first couple times, we had been successful in having sex without injury. The third time, though, he had grabbed my arm too hard and caused some mild bruises. Man, Edward can ‘guilt’ more than anyone else I knew. It took me two solid days, and the bruises disappearing, before he would touch me again. 

  


By the time we were done in the shower, the water having turned cold long before, I was definitely happy. At least we had been together one more time before the family descended on us. It would be great to see them, but I wasn’t lying when I had told him that I would miss our alone time. 

  


If I'm being honest, I couldn’t help but worry about all of them with this new threat. Edward said it would be easy; that Sam’s pack was joining us and would help significantly. He said that Alice only saw us winning, and faster than we thought originally. But I still worried for my new family. 

  


What had shocked me, though, was that Esme and Charlie were on their way, too. I hadn’t thought I would be able to see him for a long time, but they wanted to be there to fight. They were bringing the rest of the Denali clan, including the new one, Laurant. I knew that Charlie couldn’t get that close to me, but I was excited to see him from a distance at least. 

  


I set about cleaning up a bit, knowing they would be there soon. I glanced around my school work mess, the dishes in the kitchen, and decided that I better start in the bedroom, considering their crazy ability to smell everything. Edward took the kitchen, living room, and bathroom, while I focused on the bedroom. Stupid fast vampires. He was done before I was, of course. He came in and shook his head at me. 

  


“Sorry, love. The smell is still here. Maybe more cleanser?” 

  


I sat down on the bed. I had the sheets in the washing machine already, and I had wiped everything else down. The smell of lemon Pledge was hitting me, and I couldn’t believe anything else was there. I sighed in defeat. “Honestly, I don’t know how much more I could clean without corroding everything in sight.” 

  


He laughed and sat down beside me. “They won’t say anything, love. Well, maybe Emmett. But everyone else will just be happy for us.” 

  


“Even Charlie?” 

  


Edward’s eyes clouded over for a moment. “Well, I don’t think he’ll be getting close enough to the cabin for that to be of concern. I’ll check with Alice, though, to make sure he’s not going to try and kill me or anything.” 

  


I snickered, leaning into him. We continued to clean up at that point, moving the sheets to the dryer while making sure everything else was put away. I decided to try and get some school work done, just to pass the time, when I heard the first footsteps outside. Running to the door, I threw it open to see Alice, Jasper, Carlisle, Elizabeth, Rose and Emmett standing outside. Alice and Rose ran up to me first, throwing their arms around me. Jasper hung off to the side as usual, while Emmett got closer waiting to get in next. 

  


Once Alice and Rose stepped back, Emmett came in and did exactly what he had done that last time: he put his arms around me, picking me up and hugging me a little too hard. I laughed, telling him to put me down. Elizabeth was next, coming up to me and hugging me, while Carlisle reached for my hand. I had one arm around Elizabeth in a hug, while I held on to Carlisle’s. It was a wonderful moment, honestly. It was clear just how much they had all missed me, and how much I had missed them. 

  


Edward cleared his throat from behind me. “And what am I, chopped liver?” he joked. “No one missed me?” 

  


“Not a bit, little bro. I was finally able to beat someone in Chess, considering no one else cheats like you do.” Emmett came forward and wrapped Edward in a hug, laughing. The rest of the family laughed, coming forward to hug him next. 

  


When Carlisle came up to Edward, I could see them both have serious faces. I knew some of the issues between them in the past, but Edward had been quick to assure me that it was much better now than it ever had been. However, my own personal opinion was that they were both used to the tension it was hard to forget. I watched Edward step forward and put his arms around Carlisle, who reciprocated immediately. 

  


“Thank you for coming, Father. All of you. I guess we need to sit down and discuss the plans? Before the pack gets here?” Edward said, stepping back from Carlisle to place his arm around his mother. “I told Bella that we would not hide anything from her, so I want to make sure that we are including her in these conversations.” 

  


Alice beamed up at him. “Good! Yes, Bella needs to be a part of the discussions. But we can’t start them yet. Esme and Charlie will be here within the hour, along with the rest of the Denali's. We need to wait for them. The pack won’t be here until tomorrow.” 

  


“Within the hour?” I asked, taking a step toward Alice. She smiled at me and nodded. “Can I...am I allowed to hug him? Or...” I lowered my face; I knew what I was asking was impossible. He couldn’t get that close to me yet. “Never mind.” 

  


Alice put her arm around me. “It’s ok, Bella. It will be ok, trust me.” 

  


Esme 

  


As we sped through the Northwest Territories, nearing the cabin, I continued to worry for my mate. The last month or so with him had been almost bure bliss. He was calmer than I remember any other newborn being, that was for sure. But he was also the kindest man I'd ever met. He was gentle and sweet; everything I had ever wanted in a mate. He loved me, and told me frequently. 

  


He was more comfortable with the rest of the Denali’s now, too. He spent a lot of time with Eleazer, just getting to know him. But Kate joined often while they were testing the strength of his shield. Charlie was fascinated by it, and wanted to learn how to fully use it. Eleazer thought it must be totally instinctual at this point, considering how Edward had a hard time reading his mind while he was human, it must have always been a part of him. 

  


What worried me now, though, was being around Bella. Charlie had done extremely well so far, but he hadn’t gotten close to any humans yet. I didn’t want him to hurt her – both for Bella’s sake, but his own also. I knew that Charlie loved his daughter so much that if anything happened to her, he would be so guilt ridden he wouldn’t be able to live with himself. 

  


Charlie reached out and grabbed my hand, just as we rounded the bend. I could see the cabin now, maybe a mile out. He brought my hand to his lips, kissing it slightly, and I melted while looking at him. 

  


“Don’t worry so much, Esme. Everything will be fine. Alice or Edward will be able to tell how close I can get to her. I'll trust their judgement, ok?” 

  


I nodded. “Close your eyes and tell me what you smell?” He smirked. He was used to me teaching him how to hunt, but he also knew this was different. I was helping him identify Bella from a distance. If he could make sure her smell was singled out, he may be able to avoid any dangerous situations. 

  


He did as I asked, inhaling and he opened his eyes, looking at me with a wild expression. “I can smell her! Cinnamon and strawberries, just like when she was human.” 

  
Tonya and Irena walked up, putting their arms through Charlie’s – he had asked them to do that previously, to make sure he didn't take off – but I knew it wasn’t necessary. I could see in his eyes he was surprised, not thirsty. He smiled at me, and I smiled back, knowing that this was just one hurtle in many. 

  


“It’s ok, Tonya and Irena. I’m ok. I’m not thirsty, and her smell doesn’t make my throat hurt any more than it normally does. I’m in control.” He glanced at them in turn, and they smiled, releasing him and walking away. We all stood there for a few moments, making sure Charlie didn’t lose control. He glanced at us. “Let’s go. I want to see my daughter.” 

  


We took off running until we got to the cabin. Tonya, Irena and Kate called out to the Cullens inside, knowing that we couldn’t all congregate inside together. They began to spill out, greeting each of us in turn. Elizabeth made a bee-line for me, wrapping her arms around me tightly. I almost cried in relief; I had missed her so much. I saw past Elizabeth’s shoulder that Bella was hanging back, with Edward standing in front of her. I released Elizabeth and ran up to Edward, practically jumping on him. His arms wrapped around me, hugging me tight. 

  


“I have missed you, my friend,” he said. He leaned back and looked at me. “Neither of us are the lonely ones any longer, though, right?” I know he was talking quietly so Bella couldn’t hear him; I also knew that Charlie had. 

  


I smiled up at him. I’ve never been this happy in my life, Edward. And I can see that you feel the same. He smiled back at me, hugging me again. I reached over and hugged Bella next, who’s eyes didn’t quite meet mine. She was focusing on Charlie at the other side of the driveway area. 

  


Alice came up next to us, looking at Bella. “Go ahead. He wants to see you, too.” 

  


Bella walked carefully, as Edward had coached her no doubt, toward Charlie. Everyone sort of parted and watched, curious as to his reaction. Jasper and Emmett made their way to stand behind Charlie, ready to grab him if anything was amiss. I knew that Jasper was reading Charlie’s mood, but for now at least he didn’t seem concerned. Edward hovered behind Bella in case he needed to make a fast escape with her. I did the same, though based on Alice’s smile and Jasper’s confident look, I wasn’t as concerned as I had been. 

  


“Dad?” Bella asked, staring openly at Charlie. “Is that really you? You look so different!” 

  


He just smiled back at her. I had warned him to hold his breath, that it should help with the craving. Charlie didn’t move, cautious again. But Bella did. She started running toward him, even as Edward got to her and grabbed her, stopping her progress, she was trying to get to Charlie. 

  


“Let me go! It’s my Dad! I want to see him!” 

  


“Bella, Charlie isn’t safe right now...” Edward stopped talking and looked at Alice. They shared a look, and Edward dropped his hands. “Go slowly, Bella.” 

  


Amazed, I watched as Bella walked up to Charlie. He didn’t even hesitate; he put his arms out and she ran into them. For a brief moment I was worried, but I remembered the look between Edward and Alice. If he had willingly let Bella go, then he must have seen through Alice’s visions that she would be ok. I had to trust that. Still, I made sure to get closer and hover, just in case. Jasper and Emmett did the same thing. 

  


Every vampire there stood and stared as Charlie’s arms closed around Bella, softly so as to not hurt her. Bella was crying softly into his shoulder and he was smiling, obviously proud of himself at the restraint. They continued to embrace for some time, not willingly moving away from each other. Soon, the rest of us determined that he was fine, Bella was safe, and we started to move away to give them a little more privacy. Edward and I lingered, though, just in case. 

  


“I thought I wasn’t going to be able to see you for so long,” Bella said, leaning back to look at her father. “You look good, Dad. Like a whole new person.” 

  


Charlie chuckled. “I feel different, that’s for sure. I feel strong, but also sort of scattered. Like I can’t seem to focus on one thing at a time anymore. My thoughts sort of fly all over the place, all the time.” He leaned forward and kissed Bella’s forehead, while Edward and I clenched. Nothing happened, though. Charlie really was stronger than anyone thought he would be. 

  


“I’m sorry to intrude,” Edward said, stepping forward. “Mother wants us in the clearing. We need to discuss the fight before the pack gets here tomorrow. She wants to make sure that we are all solid on the plan.” 

  


Charlie looked up at Edward. His face was stoic, but something was there. I couldn’t read it, but Edward nodded at him. “You are welcome, Charlie. I promise to do that for the rest of my life.” 

  


Bella 

  


I didn’t want to let go of Dad, but I also didn’t want to push him too much. Getting to hug him was incredible, as I really hadn’t thought that would be possible for some time. Edward steered me to the side of the cabin; he ran in to get my jacket, which I had forgotten, before he scooped me up on his back and took off running. I had traveled this way before, but not for too long. I realized that I absolutely did not like this way of travel. 

  


We arrived at the meadow that Edward and I went to frequently. All of the vampires were standing around. It was a sunny day, and the diamond-like glare was coming off of all of them. If we hadn’t been in such a serious situation, I would have laughed. They all looked so ridiculous. I sat down, Edward beside me, and glanced up at the group. I was surprised to see Jasper stand up in front of everyone. 

  


“Victoria has a newborn army, and we need to discuss our strategy. There are a lot of things that I can tell all of you; instruction on how best to handle them. But I'm going to save that for when the wolves get here. In the meantime, let’s talk about timing and where all of you will be. When Sam’s pack gets here tomorrow, I'll start the instruction.” 

  


“How does Jasper know so much about newborns?” I asked Edward, trying to keep my voice low. All the vampires heard me, of course – stupid vampire hearing. Jasper was the one who replied. 

  


“My background is very different from my siblings. I was ushered into this life by a vampire named Maria, at the time of the Civil War.” He didn’t let me process that information before he continued. “Because of my abilities, Maria put me in charge of her newborn army. I trained them, and took care of them when she decided one wasn’t going to work out. I spent years with newborns during the wars.” 

  


I was sure my face was a mask of shock, but I just listened to him. He told me of the horrific things he was responsible for, the massive death that occurred to the humans in the area where the army was, the wars between them and another army close by. The death and destruction were not what I was expecting, and by the end of his speech I thought my head would explode from the extra information. 

  


Jasper changed gears and started giving instructions to everyone, but stopped short. His eyes were focused on Alice, who had a horrified look on her face. I felt Edward stiffen next to me; he wound his arms around me pulling me closer to him in a protective gesture. 

  


Before I could blink, Jasper was standing next to Alice. “What is it?” 

  


“There’s more-more than I originally saw! Liz!” Elizabeth came rushing over also, holding on to Alice’s hand. She closed her eyes and I saw Edward stiffen again. 

  


“It’s the only choice. There; Alice, now what do you see?” Elizabeth asked, opening her eyes to look at Alice. 

  


Alice nodded, smiling a slight grin. “That’s better. That's the only way, you are right.” 

  


“Can you let the rest of us in on this?” Emmett said, slightly irritated. 

  


“Victoria’s numbers have increased. They have almost doubled. Even with the wolves, we will be well undermanned. But Liz just made a choice, and we win the fight now. A quarter of the fight is blank, so that must be the wolves, but the rest of us can easily take it.” Alice looked around at everyone. “We have some preparations to make now. Everyone needs to find friends, anyone who would be willing to fight. Liz has already made the decision to start calling and visiting her and Carlisle’s friends, and our numbers keep growing. If we reach out, people will come to help us.” 

  


“So, there will be more vampires here?” Charlie asked, glancing over at me. I could see he was worried about my safety. I was the only human there. 

  


“Bella will be with me, Charlie. I’ll keep her safe. But I saw the choice, and the impact it has on the battle. We have to do this or we have no prayer of winning.” Edward stood up, grabbing my hand and gently bringing me up to stand next to him. “We will stay in the cabin, while the rest of you go on your searches. I’ll keep her inside, and her scent away from this field.” 

  


Charlie nodded, but I could tell he still wasn’t happy about the situation. Esme slid her hand into his, and he glanced down at her. For a moment I was taken almost aback at the glow of love in his face. They were really perfect for each other. The compassion and joy on both of their faces was clear enough to tell that. 

  


Carlisle walked up to Elizabeth and put his arm around her. “I can’t ask my friends to fight, Liz. That's not fair to them.” 

  


She looked up at him and smiled. “We must be honest with them; tell them exactly what’s at stake here. Let them choose to come. Many may not want to Carlisle, I can’t tell until I'm with them. But we need to get moving now. We don’t have any time to waste.” 

  


I could tell he wasn’t happy, but he didn’t say anything else. The rest of the group started hovering around Liz to know what she had seen, and who they should contact first. Edward tugged on my hand and started leading me back to the cabin. 

  


Sam’s pack showed up the next day as expected, and none of them were happy to hear about the change in plans. Alice and Liz explained everything as best as they could, and gave them a choice to leave if they weren’t comfortable being around all of their friends. Rose and Emmett had already left to find some of their friends; Eleazer and Carmen as well. Tonya, Kate and Irena had scattered going in different directions to track down more people. Liz and Carlisle were booked on an international flight the next morning; they were heading to Europe, having many friends in that area they were going to visit. 

  


Esme and Charlie decided to stay with us, along with Jasper. Jasper was going to continue the training with the wolves, and he thought Charlie could benefit from it as well. Esme and Charlie were in the meadow when Sam’s pack got there, continuing to work on his shield. I was still amazed when I thought about my father being a gifted vampire. I briefly wondered if I would have any gifts after I was turned. 

  


Unfortunately, this thought process brought on Edward’s wrath. While we had come quite far in this discussion, he was being extremely protective of me right now. He was not willing to discuss my change at the moment, and this line of thinking gave Alice a vision that he had seen. 

  


“Bella, be reasonable. Right now is not the time to discuss this!” He was frustrated, running his hand through his hair. We were back at the cabin; the pack having gone to the meadow to meet up with Jasper. He was pacing around the living room while I was making a large meal to feed everyone with. At least I had something to do to keep my hands busy. 

  


I didn’t even look at him. “It’s not up for discussion, as I have said before, Edward. I agree that now is not the time, but you can’t stop my errant thoughts about things. I'm allowed to think and plan for future.” 

  


“Bella, can we please at least agree to discuss this after the damn fight?” 

  


Before I could answer, Alice and Elizabeth came walking in, standing to the side. Edward didn’t look at them, but his face looked fierce. “No, Mother. Please.” 

  


“It’s her life, Edward.” Elizabeth turned to me, walking up and putting her arms around me. I hugged her back, standing away from the stove. She leaned back and looked at me. “My son likes to control his surroundings, and because he can’t hear your thoughts it makes him crazy sometimes. He will get over it, dear. The only successful choice I see for you in the one you have already made. I see nothing but happiness and contentment in your lives. You are right, dear, it’s not his choice. It's yours.” 

  


Alice walked up to stand next to us. “I’ve already shown Edward the future; since you made your choice all I can see in your future is you becoming a glorious vampire. That you are both happy. He is resisting, but I can see that the choice is not his either.” 

  


I smiled at them both. Edward stayed quiet, as I expected. Later that night when we were curled up in bed, I thought about bringing it up again. I decided against it, though, because I knew his tension could only go so high before he snapped. He was terrified about everything going on, and he simply didn’t have the ability to discuss anything right now. 

  


Instead, my mind circled back to Jasper’s description of his upbringing. The way that Maria had used his gifts to her advantage. I wished for the hundredth time that I could do something to help everyone in this battle, but I knew I couldn’t stand against a vampire. Watching Jasper and the rest of the group moving around the meadow in simulated battle had taught me that, if nothing else. 

  


With the thought of helping them in my mind, I fell asleep next to Edward. He curled his arms around me, holding me tight and keeping me safe. I woke up alone, though. Edward must have gotten up at some point. I took the opportunity to go and take a shower before wandering into the kitchen to make breakfast. The house was silent, but there was a note from Edward telling me he had gone to the meadow with everyone else. I decided to make a simple breakfast of cereal, since I wasn’t sure if Sam’s pack had already eaten. 

  


I sat down on the couch eating my cereal, and my mind started circling with everything going on right now. We knew that Victoria and her army were days away at this point, and the worry continued to grow for me. I wanted to do something to help, but everyone kept telling me that there was nothing I could do. That I would only be in the way, and a liability considering I was a human and couldn’t turn into a giant wolf. 

  


As I was sitting there, I overheard talking outside. I snuck over to the door and listened in. 

  


“I don’t care, Alice! I know that it would be better if I was there, but I don’t want Victoria anywhere near Bella! If she truly is out to kill Bella – a mate for a mate, as you put it – then I don’t want to let Bella out of my sight. She could be here anytime!” Edward’s voice was agitated, which was probably why he wasn’t watching the volume. 

  


“Edward, I told you that she wouldn’t be here for two more weeks. We have plenty of time. We need you to be in the meadow right now to help us talk with Sam and his puppies. They are so uncomfortable, according to Jasper, that they all refuse to go back to their human shape.” 

  


I listened to them argue for a few minutes, but then their voices got too quiet. I opened the door and only Alice was there. She looked at me with a funny look, but smiled. 

  
“Did you get any sleep, Bella?” she asked me, walking in the house. 

  


“Some. How about you?” I joked, closing the door behind us. “Edward make you stay here to babysit me?” 

  


She smiled sweetly, sitting down in the chair in the living room. “Yeah. I do need to go back to the meadow soon, though. Jasper wants my help.” 

  


I nodded. “I’ll be fine, Alice. Just go. I promise I won’t go anywhere, and Edward will be back soon, right?” 

  


She gave me that weird look again, but nodded. “Edward won’t like it, but oh well. I'll just head back over then. I'll send him back to you in an hour or so, ok?” 

  


I nodded again, and she popped over to me, kissing me on the cheek, before running out the cabin. I was formulating a plan in my head, but I knew I couldn’t make a decision without Alice seeing it. I had to wait for the right moment to decide. 

  


Through the next couple weeks, Edward spent a lot of his time in the meadow. Rose and Emmett returned with a few nomad vampires they had met. I hadn’t met any of them, of course, because none shared the Cullen diet. Edward was so protective of me, he kept me locked in the cabin most of the time. One of his family would usually hang out with me so I wasn’t alone, but I really wanted to be a part of the action. Help where I could. 

  


I didn’t have my opportunity until we were a day away from the fight. Elizabeth and Carlisle had just gotten back, bringing with them many vampires that I didn’t know who had just casually walked by the cabin without looking at me. I watched from the window amazed. Edward had been with me, but he had left to speak with them and greet our guests. The second the coast was clear, I put my plan into action. I didn’t think, I ran and got my shoes on, a jacket, and then I ran out the cabin door, running in the opposite direction that he had gone. I knew I didn’t have much time. Alice would see my choice soon, and Edward would come and find me. But I had to try. 

  


If this lunatic vampire was after me, maybe I should give her what she wants? I thought that if I could get myself out of the way, then maybe she would stop trying to hurt my family. That maybe I could do something to help them after all. As I was running, I was also thinking to myself how stupid I was, though. I was trying to help, and I stuck to that thought as I ran as fast as I could. 

  


I ran until I was exhausted and had to slow my pace. I continued to go, though; I didn’t dare stop my progress away from the cabin. As I came into a semi-large opening, I saw a burst of red fly by me. I stopped, breath cold, staring into bright red eyes. 

  


“How lovely? Bella, I assume?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just like Bella, right? Run right into the middle of the danger instead of away from it. What are ya gonna do? LOL. And I guess someone found her...to be continued soon! 
> 
> What did you think of her and Charlie’s reunion? 
> 
> Please remember to check out my other story Consuming Love, a companion piece to Inappropriate Love. All Edward POV for the same story. New chapter coming for that today or tomorrow. 
> 
> Thanks to all of you again for reading. Reviews make my day! 
> 
> And thanks to my sister and my beta, zombified419 for everything you two do!


	19. The Color Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again friends! Here is the conclusion of the cliffy I left last time. I hope that you enjoy. More at the bottom!

Chapter 19: The Color Red 

  


Edward 

  


I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes for the hundredth time since I'd gotten back to the meadow. Sam’s pack had only been here for a couple weeks and they were driving me crazy. The conversations in their heads were driving me to distraction; I could barely hear anyone else in the meadow. I knew that Alice’s vision showed Victoria and her army not getting close to us soon but I was still worried. I hated that this would all be so close to Bella. 

  


I hated being away from her, and I'd told Alice that. But because the wolves were so stubborn, I needed to be here to help translate now that all of our friends had arrived. I just wish they hadn’t had such an annoying inner monologue going while I did it. I wanted to greet our friends, but Jasper had asked me to stay so I could translate for the wolves. 

  


Just a couple days from when the army was supposed to arrive, I was half listening to the maddening dogs when I heard Alice gasp. Quickly, I turned toward her and focused my thoughts away from the pack, concentrating on the vision she was having. I almost dropped to my knees. Swirling colors, including the bright red of Victoria’s hair, standing right in front of Bella. Victoria had an evil grin on her face. 

  


That evil vampire shouldn’t be able to get that close to Bella! Something had gone wrong! 

  


Before I even registered the thought, I was off and running toward the cabin. I burst through the door, hoping to find Bella sitting down looking at me like I was crazy, but she wasn’t in the living room. I searched through the whole house only to find it completely empty. 

  


Now I was near panic as I ran out the door. I smelled the throat burning scent of my love, heading in the opposite direction of the meadow. I ran at a slower pace, just to be sure I didn’t miss it. I heard Jasper and Emmett behind me, but I ignored them. I was solely focused on finding Bella. I followed the scent through the trees, and finally came to an opening in the forest. 

  


“There were other vampires here,” Jasper said, walking up beside me. He placed his hand on my shoulder. “Edward, we have to assume that she’s been taken.” 

  


I closed my eyes. If I could have cried, I felt sure that tears would have been pouring down my face. “Jazz, what did she do? Was she kidnapped and we didn’t see? Did she run out of the cabin?” I started to panic again, but I felt Jasper pour calmness over me. I wanted to struggle away from it - I didn't want to feel calm right then! I turned to him and Emmett. “Go back to the meadow; Victoria has to be around and will most likely be making an appearance. Get back to the family; let me find Bella.” 

  


They looked at me like I was crazy. “Please, guys. Just go. We have no idea if it was just one or more, but I don’t want anyone else to be injured. Please get back to the fight; the rest of the group needs you right now. When it winds down, if I'm not back yet, come and find me, ok?” 

  


“Edward, you’ll get yourself killed fighting them by yourself,” Jasper said, his eyes narrowing. “Are you...why would you put yourself in that kind of danger? We have no way of knowing where they took Bella, or if she’s even alive.” 

  


I flinched, but stood my ground. “Jazz, go, please. I’ll find her. But come after me as soon as the fight is over, ok?” 

  


They didn’t move for a second, but I pushed on them to get them to go. Before they even turned to leave, I was sniffing around the clearing trying to find the scent again. Bella’s was masked heavily by the odor of other vampires; I had to assume they had her. I couldn’t even think about them killing her. It couldn’t be real or true, so I decided to focus on finding her. 

  


As I kept the scent in my head, following it throughout the clearing and back into the woods on the opposite side, and realized that Jasper knew exactly what I was doing. We had spoken a few weeks ago and he had worked out of me how I felt about her. I told him that Bella was everything to me, that I couldn’t live without her. We had spoken about her eventual change into one of us, which he supported, but I explained how hard it would be for me to watch her in pain. And what if I couldn’t stop and killed her? 

  


“Edward, it’s the same for Alice. I'm thankful I never had to watch her go through the change; I know how hard that would have been on me,” Jasper had said. “The fact that you are obsessing so much over this means that you will be able to stop. You have already done things with her that haven’t killed her like they should have; your strength is incredible! You can absolutely do this, brother.” 

  


His words had only sort of dimmed the inner monologue in my head, though. I still obsessed, as he put it, over the future and how it would all play out. But right now, I was focused on the present. And finding Bella as quickly as I could. 

  


I rounded the bend in the forest and I could hear someone’s thoughts in my head. I focused on them, trying to determine if this person had my Bella. 

  


I may just have to take her. The smell is driving me insane; I don’t know how Victoria does it. She's sitting right there, smelling like that, and Victoria just ignores it. There's fresh blood, damnit! I may go crazy! And I have to sit here and smell it, knowing that there are no humans close by at all. The burning is so painful! 

  


I pulled out of the thoughts as fast as I could, trying to block them. The burn I heard them describe wasn’t helping me, considering it had been a few days since I'd hunted myself. Based on their thoughts, I had to assume that Bella was close by, and apparently injured to some degree if they were smelling fresh blood? Or maybe it was just because the person was a newborn and they couldn’t help but want blood that close by. Who knew; and I certainly didn’t want back into those thoughts. 

  


I crept closer, my guard up as I neared to them. I was hoping to find other thoughts to listen in to, but somehow, I couldn’t find anyone else. Before too long, I found the vampire that I’d heard. They were alone, a mile or so away from a very remote cabin. It looked similar to ours, though smaller. I approached anticipating a fight, and was able to take the vampire out fairly quickly. That person must have been a sentry or something, considering they were all alone. 

  


By that time, I could hear other thoughts from the direction of the cabin. There were three others, and from what I could see, they had Bella locked up in a back room. Victoria was with her while the other two were in the front room. Through Victoria’s thoughts I could tell that she was keeping Bella alive for now because she was waiting for me to show up. She wanted Bella to die right in front of me so that my pain would be what she experienced watching me kill James. 

  


Her thoughts were vile – evil. And I struggled to pull myself out. I didn't want to, because I had a direct line into watching Bella. She was on the floor against the far wall; I didn’t see any blood, so I was thankful in assuming the newborn was only talking about Bella being a human so close, rather than injured and bleeding. I realized that if she had been bleeding the others would have gone crazy – even more crazy than they already were with her being so close. I was thankful for that much. 

  


I listened to the others’ thoughts, but got back to Victoria several times. I just wanted to check on Bella and know that she was still safe. The others were newborns also, of course, and one of them had some kind of power. It was not a large gift, more of a minor one of fire starting. He was scared of it though because Victoria had warned him that fire was the one thing that could kill us. He was thinking about trying to use it, see what he could do with it, but kept hearing Victoria telling him that he would kill himself or them if he used it. 

  


I didn’t think I could take all three, which was the only thought keeping me back from busting in there. I needed to wait for my brothers to return. I was too far away from the fight to know if it had even started, let alone how it was going. I knew that we had amassed many to fight with us, so I was sure of our victory, but because I couldn’t hear anything, I didn’t know the status. I decided to hide and stay within thought sensing range and keep an eye on the three guarding Bella. 

  


It was almost two hours later before I heard someone approaching from behind me. Luckily, I heard their thoughts before I reacted. I calmed when I realized it was Mother, Carlisle, Esme and Charlie. 

  


Son, the battle is winding down. Jasper sent us here to help you, since Alice saw that you needed us. We tried to convince Charlie to stay back, just in case they had injured Bella, but he refused. He wants to help save her, and honestly is very distracted as a result. 

  


As they neared, I turned to look at them with a grateful glance. “I assume we are winning?” 

  


Esme looked up at me. It was worse than Alice thought. There were almost 50 by the time they got there. Jasper hasn’t seen that many newborns in one place since the wars he was involved with, and we don’t know why or how there were that many. The vision Alice had was right, the wolves took out a little more than a quarter of them. The rest of us were able to surround the rest and take most of them out. Jasper and Sam’s pack are finishing up with the ten or so remaining. 

  


There’s something off about this, dear. My mother thought, putting her arm around me. Alice can’t put her finger on it, but something was weird. Like it was a diversion or something. Whatever it is, we cannot see without you. Let’s focus on getting Bella and then we need you to help. 

  


“I haven’t heard anything from the ones in the cabin. If something else is going on here, other than trying to kill Bella to get back at me, I haven’t heard it.” I said as quietly as I could. 

  


“So, Bella is in that cabin? How are we going to get her out?” Charlie said, using the same tone of voice I was. His thoughts were still muted, as they had been when he was human, so I really couldn’t hear him that well. The others were used to thinking at me, instead of talking, but he was different. It was almost like he repelled my abilities. I knew he was a shield, similar to a mirror according to Eleazer, so I just assumed that’s what was going on. 

  


We took a few minutes to discuss our strategy, knowing that we would only have seconds to take out the three in the cabin without hurting Bella in the process. I thought about making a noise to see if I could draw the two newborns outside, but Mother said that was the worse choice, because Victoria would kill Bella immediately. 

  


“We have to do it this way,” Mother was saying. “You and Charlie go in through the window on the far side of the room Bella is in. You get Bella, he will take out Victoria. That's the only way I can see this working where she is safe.” 

  


We all trusted Mother – though Charlie was still new to the whole thing, he trusted Esme, who assured him Mother was always right – so everyone agreed with the plan, whisking around the side of the cabin to get in place. We had to time it exactly right. Charlie and I would go through the back window a split second before the rest came crashing through the front door. 

  


Charlie and I were in place, and I could hear Esme telling me they were ready also. I glanced at him, his eyes fierce, and nodded toward the window. He and I both jumped in at the same time. 

  


Bella 

  


I ran until I was exhausted and had to slow my pace. I continued to go, though; I didn’t dare stop my progress away from the cabin. As I came into a semi-large opening in the trees, I saw a burst of red fly by me. I stopped short, staring into bright red eyes. 

  


“How lovely? Bella, I assume?” 

  


I tried to stop shaking as she walked slowly toward me. I knew what I was doing when I left the cabin. This is exactly what I had expected. Then why was I so damn scared? I took in her fiery red hair, the matching red eyes, and the evil smirk on her face. She was the scariest damn vampire I’d ever seen. And I realized, as she kept getting closer to me, that she was probably the last thing I was ever going to see. I closed my eyes and tried to remember how Edward felt when we were close. How his hands had felt on me...his lips. How he had told me that he loved me. I pushed through the memories and felt myself calm down. 

  


“I think that you aren’t scared of me,” she whispered, her face right next to mine. “How interesting. Let's see what I can do to change that.” 

  


And in a flash, she had grabbed me and we were running. I couldn’t tell what direction she had taken me in, because I couldn’t open my eyes. I was nauseous and the terror was creeping back up into my throat, trying not to scream. She wanted me to be scared? She’d succeeded. 

  


I felt her slow down, so I opened my eyes carefully. She was walking up to a cabin that looked similar to ours, just smaller. There were three other people standing next to it, all with the same bright red eyes that she had. They looked at me like I was their next snack. Maybe I was? I had no idea why this crazy bitch hadn’t just killed me already. I tried to focus on the cabin, and around it, just in case I needed to make a run for it. Then I laughed at myself internally. There was no way I was getting out of here. I was screwed; which is exactly how I thought today would go. 

  


She carried me into a back room, screaming at the others to keep guard. She slammed the door and threw me against the far wall. My head cracked against it, and I slid down, pulling my knees up to my chest as I leaned against the wall. My eyes lifted to hers and she sneered at me. 

  


“Your little boyfriend brought this on himself, you know. We were totally innocent. We just wanted to meet the new vamps in town, and they attacked us unprovoked!” She walked over to me, running her hand down my cheek. “And now you have to pay his debt. I had to watch my mate get killed, and now he will have to watch his little pet go through the same thing. Though, my dear, I fear it will be much more pain involved for you.” 

  


I didn’t say anything, but I met her eyes steadily. The anger and amusement in her face was a whole other level of terrifying, but I held my ground. I knew that they couldn’t find me right away, and I hoped that Edward wasn’t stupid enough to try and take on four vampires on his own. 

  


“I’m going to keep you alive for now,” she whispered again. It was interesting how her voice was so child-like while the words and her demeanor were so challenging and evil. “He needs to come here first so he can enjoy the show.” 

  


I hugged my legs tighter as she straightened up and moved away from me, standing against the far wall. I knew that she was plotting how to kill me, and somehow my terror vanished. I had just taken four vampires out of the fight; that was something, right? Maybe that was the edge my family needed to defeat them. Maybe I had just given them all a good chance at winning. That was all I had wanted. 

  


She sat there staring at me for what felt like forever. Could have been hours, I wouldn’t have been able to tell. When the sun was starting to get low, I realized that I must have been there for at least four or five hours; maybe more. She hadn’t said another word, just stared at me with a sneer on her face. She could have almost been a statue at that point. I never said a word. 

  


Out of nowhere, her head whipped to the side, staring at the window to my right. I didn’t even have time to turn to look before I heard a crashing sound. I threw my arms over my head as debris rained down on me. I didn’t look, but I felt strong, familiar arms wrap around me. 

  


“Bella, hold on to me, love. I’m getting you out of here,” Edward whispered. I reacted, throwing my arms around him. I heard a screeching noise, and Victoria screaming, but I didn’t even look. The crashing around me was nothing compared to the dark black eyes of Edward. He grabbed me and took off through the hole he had made in the wall. He kept running as fast as he could, and I kept my eyes closed the whole time. 

  


Finally, he stopped, sitting down on the ground. “What were you thinking? Why did you do this?” 

  


I opened my eyes and stared into his. They were filled with concern and frustration. “I wanted to help. I wanted to do something to deter the fight a little. She was after me, so I decided to give myself to her. Then you would be safe.” 

  


He raised his hand to my cheek. “Don’t you know that I can’t live without you? Do you have any concept of how lost I would be if you’d died?” He almost choked on the last word. “Bella, you are everything to me. I can’t live in a world where you don’t exist. You nearly gave me a heart attack, and that’s a very hard thing to do!” 

  


I almost smiled at him. “I love you, too, Edward. You have to understand that I had to try and do something to keep you safe. I wanted to help my family; our family. This was the only thing I could think of.” 

  


He lowered his forehead to mine. “Stubborn human. You are going to kill me one day, I swear.” He brought his lips to mine, and I sank into him. 

  


Esme 

  


We waited for the signal from Edward, making sure to wait until it was the right time. We couldn’t have the two vampires inside go to Victoria’s aid, so we slammed through the door and jumped on them as fast as we could. Jasper’s training on fighting newborns had been extremely helpful. Elizabeth and I jumped on the one closest to the door, while Carlisle rushed to the one at the far end. 

  


The one we were after threw her hand out, hitting me so hard I slammed into the back wall. Liz was closer and was able to grab onto her arm. I bounced off the wall and rushed over to help her, punching the vampire in the stomach. She bowed and I pulled her forward, moving to the other side so that I push her to the ground. I kneeled on her back as she went down. I started pushing on the back of her head, as Liz bent down and took a giant chunk out of the neck. Because of the chunk missing I was able to push the head off, kicking the body over to the far wall, separating the two pieces. 

  


Liz and I stood up glancing over to Carlisle, immediately terrified. The vampire he was after had grabbed him around the neck, fire glowing in the hand that wasn’t around Carlisle. Fire was the last thing I had expected to find, and Liz and I froze. This crazy newborn could kill us all if we weren’t careful. 

  


I was aware of the fight in the back bedroom. Now that I was quiet, I could hear Victoria screaming, and Charlie grunting with effort. I just had to hope and pray that he was ok, because I really couldn’t think anything else. I knew he was stronger than her right now, and that had to work in his interest. 

  


Liz stepped forward, slowly, her hands raised. “I know that you are scared,” she said, in her best calming voice. “I know that you don’t want to be here; don’t want to be what you’ve become. We can help you. Please, let us just talk and we can get through this together.” 

  


“You came rushing in and killed my friend!” he jeered at her. “You aren’t here to talk!” He grabbed Carlisle even harder, and Liz’s breath caught a little. “I can kill all of you with my power. In five seconds, I can have this entire cabin up in flames.” 

  


I shook my head, taking a step to stand next to Liz. “I don’t think you want to do that, though, do you? You want to live. You want to run and never look back. Isn't that right?” 

  


His face fell for a moment, before sliding back into the sneer. “You are scared. I can kill all of you, and you know it.” He laughed and I noticed that he had shifted his hold on Carlisle ever so slightly. Carlisle looked up at Liz and smiled a little. She and I readied ourself, understanding that he was about to break free. 

  


I knew we could only have seconds at this point. Carlisle shifted fast, sliding out of his grasp, and Liz and I took off toward him. He threw his arm out to try and cover his eyes, which released the fire in his hand. It flew toward the kitchen area and almost erupted in a wall of flame. I screamed, kicking him right in the stomach as Liz grabbed Carlisle and moved him out of the way of the fire. I had dazed the newborn, and I took advantage of it to kick him again in the chest, harder this time. 

  


As I watched him stumble into the flames in the kitchen, I heard another scream from the back room. I took off running, knowing that Liz and Carlisle were fine; I had to help Charlie. I got to the bedroom door and I burst through it, right as Victoria was kicking Charlie in the chest. It didn’t have as much of an effect on him as she had wanted, though. Charlie smirked, lunging at her, his teeth on her shoulder. She screamed as he yanked her arm clean off, severing it at the shoulder blade. 

  


I jumped at her then, my teeth on her neck, just like Liz had done with the other female. Charlie did the same thing on the other side, and Victoria’s screams were gone in a second as her head fell ungracefully to the floor. 

  


Charlie turned to me, love in his eyes, and lunged at me next, his mouth fused to mine. “Damn that was a rush,” he said. “Killing that evil witch for taking my daughter felt damn good.” 

  


For a moment I forgot about the scene around us; then I smelled the smoke again. “Charlie, we need to get out of here. The one in the front was a fire starter, and this place is going to burn down.” 

  


His eyes were wide; he reached over and grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the hole that he and Edward had made coming into the room. We ran out of it, circling back to the front, hoping to see Liz and Carlisle. They were just coming through the door as we got there. 

  


“He didn’t want to stay still after you pushed him into the fire,” Liz explained. “We had to convince him to stay in there.” She smirked at me then looked at Charlie. “Victoria?” 

  


He grinned. “Headless and about to be burned.” 

  


“Excellent. Let’s go find Bella and give her a sound talking to then. Scaring us half to death.” Liz’s face was fierce, but there was a smile there. I knew as well as anyone that she was impressed with Bella. The strength that human had was incredible, and Liz knew it. 

  


We followed Edward and Bella’s scent for a few miles before we finally spotted them. He was leaning against a tree, holding Bella, their lips fused. I cleared my throat and they broke apart, Bella’s face reddening. Charlie walked up to her and pulled her out of Edward’s arms, hugging her tightly. 

  


“Don’t you ever do that again! You scared the hell out of us!” He leaned back and kissed her forehead. All of us tensed when he did that, but Charlie wasn’t fazed at all. “When we tell you to stay in the damn cabin away from a group of mindless killers, listen to us next time, damnit! You could have died!” 

  


“I just...” Bella stammered. “I wanted to help. I felt so useless just standing around in the cabin while all of you were risking your lives for me.” 

  


“Bella, we were not risking our lives for just you. If this newborn army hadn’t been stopped, think about the decimation they could do to an entire town of humans!” Liz walked closer to her, wrapping her arms around her. “You are important. To all of us, not just Edward and Charlie. We can’t lose you! It's too high a price to pay to stop them, do you understand me?” 

  


“Yes, I understand.” Bella looked down. It looked like tears were streaming down her face. “You have to understand from my point of view, too, though. All you mean a lot to me, and I didn’t want to lose you. I thought if I turned myself over to her that I might be able to pull some of them away from the fight...or, or, prevent some of it maybe. I don’t know...I just...I had to do something.” 

  


Carlisle walked over to Bella then, and I walked close behind him. “You mean more to us than you think, Bella. Please don’t ever think that any of us would be ok losing you just to save us having to fight a few newborns.” 

  


She bit her lip, glancing around at all of us. “I’m sorry. I was just trying to help.” 

  


“We know, dear. Just please let us handle things like this in the future. At least until you are one of us.” Liz smiled at her. I glanced at Edward, who’s mouth was in a firm line at his mother’s comment. Charlie didn’t say anything, but I could almost feel the tension rolling off of him. 

  


“Come on, let’s get back to the cabin. I want to know what’s going on in the meadow,” I said, taking Charlie’s hand, leading him to the east toward our cabin; the others started to follow us, and we didn’t say anything more until we got back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew. That was an interesting one to write. So, couple things. We only have 5 more chapters left in the fic – which is crazy, right? Man, I feel like I just started it! Anyway, more this weekend. We’ll continue the twice a week updates going forward. I’m still debating on one additional chapter – so, if I do that it may be later. There are 25 written and beta’d at this point. We’ll see if I end up doing one more. 
> 
> LOTS more to come, too. This is only the beginning, my friends! 
> 
> Thanks to everyone reading, reviewing, liking, etc. for my little story. I really appreciate each and every one of you! I also see lots of the same names commenting on my other fan fic Consuming Love, so thank you for making it over there. 
> 
> Much love to my sister and my beta, zombified419, for your help with this story! I really appreciate you both so much! 
> 
> Until Saturday...just wait, should be a good time! :)


	20. What Came Next

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends! I gather that most of you are not super happy with Bella and her tactics in my story...Fair enough :). The thing is that this is what she did running off to James in the first book, right? Dying for someone she loved? I just took it in a different direction. But you see the lines drawn, yes?

Chapter 20: What Came Next 

  


Bella 

  


I was still feeling embarrassed by what I had done, but at least when Edward was carrying me while running no one could tell. Even though they had been upset with me, I knew in my heart that I would have still chosen to do it no matter what. I did get four vampires away from the fight, and I knew that my father and Edward were safe as a result – and Victoria was dead. Those were excellent outcomes of my horrible decision. I was embarrassed, but not enough to regret what I had done. 

  


By the time we got to the meadow, I was feeling better. Edward hung back while the rest went right in. There was a horrible smelling fire in the middle of the clearing, with so many vampires standing around it was crazy. I could see the pack at the far end of the meadow, still in wolf form. I couldn’t see or count everyone, plus there were so many I didn’t know anyway, I had no way to tell if we had lost anyone on our side. 

  


“Jacob’s here,” Edward said, shocking me. I looked up at him with my eyes wide. “He’s ok, he came to help. He feels really guilty and is trying to decide how to approach Charlie.” 

  


“I can’t believe he’s here,” I hissed, taking a step back. “Don’t let him get near me, Edward. I may kill him with my bare hands.” 

  


Edward laughed, putting his arm around me and kissing my head. “Trust me, love. He’ll never get that close to you.” 

  


“I can’t tell, because I don’t know a lot of people here, but did we have any losses?” I asked, biting my lip. 

  


“No one. Just as we suspected, everything went exactly to plan.” 

  


“I wonder if four more vampires would have turned the tide.” 

  


Edward looked down at me, rolling his eyes. “It was still a very foolish thing to do, Bella. We can handle this because we are stronger...” 

  


“Yeah, and I’m not. I get it.” I looked up at him, still feeling frustrated. “Sometimes I think you like me being this weak human. Because then you have an excuse to always come to my rescue.” 

  


He stared at me with his mouth open. “No, Bella, that’s not-” 

  


“Just, never mind.” I turned back to face the meadow. I didn’t want to have this conversation right now. 

  


“Bella,” Edward began, using his hand on my chin to make me look at him. “I love you more than anything else in this world. It would be the most absolutely selfish thing in my life to change you, to get to keep you for an eternity. This is not a life I wanted for myself, most of us didn’t. I can’t ask you to live this way, the way we do, forever. I want you to have what I didn’t.” 

  


“That’s not your choice, Edward. None of you had a choice in this, not really. But I do. I am making a choice that I want, for myself, for my family. It's not up to you to choose the direction of my own life.” I put my hand on his cheek. “I want to keep you for an eternity also. But I also want an even relationship. If I stay like this, a weak and frail human, we will never be equals. You will always be better at everything, stronger, faster...just better. I'll always be less. 

  


“Something is going to take me away from you. Today I made a choice that could have ended my life. I did what I thought was right. But tomorrow I could be hit by a bus, or in a few years get an illness you can’t cure. Too much can separate us, Edward. Surely you have to see that.” 

  


He nodded; grief clear in his eyes. “I can’t lose you, Bella.” 

  


Before I could respond, Alice came running up. She looked into Edward’s eyes and he froze. I glanced between them. “What’s wrong? You guys miss some newborns or something?” 

  


Edward turned to me. “Bella, I want you to stay behind me. Alice, gather everyone and make sure they are in front of us. Tell Sam’s pack to back off unless they are needed. No reason for them to be seen yet.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “I know, Alice. But we don’t have time to do anything else.” 

  


“Edward, what’s wrong?” I asked as Alice ran away, speaking to all of the vampires in the meadow. They started to rush over to us, Edward standing in front of me. 

  


“The Volturi are coming,” he said quietly. The vampires around us turned to look at him swiftly. “Apparently they were headed here because of the newborn army. They want to know what happened, since we have rendered them useless.” 

  


Edward 

  


“We will all die! You have asked us to come here and die!” Alistair whined, coming to stand right next to me. “You have doomed us all!” 

  


“Alistair, calm down,” Carlisle said, walking up to him. “You knew we were in for a fight when you agreed to come here. You could have said no, we would not have judged you on that.” 

  


“You said we were fighting newborns, not the Volturi!” I could see that he was already plotting his means of escape, so that he didn’t have to be seen. His terror was real, that was for sure. 

  


“They may not want a fight,” Carlisle said, his eyes scanning the crowd around him. “We need to stop and listen to them and see what happens.” His eyes shot to mine. “We need to protect our friends; Bella and the wolves. They are the priority now. Friends, stand with us. We do not wish to fight.” 

  


Mother came up to stand next to Carlisle. “You all have been made aware of my and my daughter’s gifts. We have made a choice to stay and speak with the Volturi and all I see are good things down this path. You trusted in us to come and help fight the newborns. Please trust us in this, as well.” 

  


I heard murmurings around the meadow, no one speaking out loud. The Egyptian coven was considering their choice. Amun was terrified of the Volturi; all he wanted to do was run so they didn’t know Benjamin was there, and what powers he had. Benjamin, however, was excited. Amun kept him locked up most of the time and he was just happy to be free for a change. Their mates were more indifferent to the situation, willing to follow the men in whatever direction they chose. 

  


The Irish, though, they were worried. Siobhan’s eyes were on Maggie, hoping to gain some insight into the choice to stand with us against the Volturi. Maggie’s gift was to be able to sense if people were telling the truth, so she was a valuable asset right now. I could hear enough of Maggie’s thoughts to know that she trusted Carlisle and Mother, and her choice to stay was clear. 

  


She spoke briefly and quietly. “I trust your judgement, Carlisle and Elizabeth. I will stay.” 

  


Siobhan and her mate, Liam, agreed quickly, used to following Maggie’s direction. There were others that simply nodded, not speaking. Charlotte and Peter, Jasper’s friends, were among them, as well as a couple of other nomad vampires. 

  


“I will stay. Maybe the kings of Italy need to be reminded they are not the only vampires out there,” said Garret, another nomad. His eyes were on Kate; thinking affectionately about getting to know her. I suppressed a smile as she glanced back at him. 

  


Edward, please tell Carlisle that we are here but hiding. We will stay in case we are needed. I heard Sam’s voice. I relayed this to Carlisle, who smiled at me. Mother did as well, before walking over to Bella. 

  


“We must keep Bella safe,” she said, putting her arm around my mate. “The Volturi will not be happy with a human among us. I cannot see what their choices are until they get here though.” She glanced up at Alice. “When?” 

  


“About ten minutes. It's not enough time to get Bella far enough away, though. They are coming from the direction of the cabin.” 

  


“And if Edward takes her in the opposite direction she could freeze to death in the cold.” Mother finished for Alice. They stared at each other for a few minutes. 

  


As always, I was fascinated by the way she thought; how her gift worked. Mother flipped through the choices in her head like someone would do casually with a magazine. She was searching for the best outcome, the happiest ending. She could see some sorrow mixed in with one strand, so she kept searching. Eventually, though, she came back to the one that had minimal sorrow but a mostly good and solid ending. She glanced at me, knowing I saw, too. 

  


“Alice, can you see anything...?” I wanted to know what the sorrow was. Who would be unhappy? What sadness was coming? 

  


Alice shook her head. “No, I can’t. A decision hasn’t been made yet. All I see is them coming.” 

  


Bella was looking between the three of us, her lip captured in her teeth. “What should I do? If you can’t get me away from here, how do I remain hidden so they can’t see me?” 

  


  
I could tell her nerves were shot. Being around a group of vampires whose diets were not like mine, and then adding more into the mix, was scaring her. She was a stubborn girl who went full speed after what she wanted, but in this situation all she could see was people surrounding her warm, sweet smelling blood. I pulled her to me, wrenching her out of my Mother’s arms. I wound mine around her, holding her close. 

  


“You will stay with us, and we will surround you. With any luck, we will be able to mask your scent. The Volturi do not allow humans to know our secret. We must keep you safe from them as we figure out what they are doing here. Please, love, stay with me. Ok?” I pulled back enough so I could look at her in the eye. She stared up and me and nodded, fear etched all over her face. 

  


I turned sharply to look toward the cabin in the distance. I could hear them. Alice was right, they were close. “I hear them,” I said, not taking my eyes away from the woods. “They will be here soon. Their thoughts are focused on who built the newborn army and why. They smell Bella, but do not know she is with us.” 

  


“Are they here to kill us?” Alastair said, grabbing my arm. I wretched it away from him. 

  


“No, at least Aro, Caius and Marcus are not. Some of the guard are hoping for a fight; Jane and Alec primarily, though Demetri is thinking about it as well. Aro, Caius and Marcus are more concerned with the breaking of the law regarding the army.” I closed my eyes and focused in on them again. “Most of the guard is here, along with the wives. There are a few witnesses. Aro thought this would be a major triumph for him; killing a massive newborn army. He had been hoping to relive the days of the newborn wars. He was invigorated at the thought. As was Caius.” 

  


“And Marcus?” Carlisle asked, hopefully. He knew as well as I did how changed Marcus was; he was different than described prior to his mate being killed. The thought made me sad for him, thinking of how terrified I was at the mere thought of losing Bella. 

  


“He is wondering when he will be able to go home.” 

  


“But we have taken out the army, now what will they do?” Amun pressed, sliding up next to me. I saw his eyes flash to Bella, and I tightened my arms around her. 

  


“Aro wants to know what happened; he is not happy that he wasn’t needed. It was to be glorious, and he missed out on that opportunity. He is curious about why so many of us are here. I do not hear anything else, though.” 

  


The rest of the group turned to face in the same direction I was. I was grateful that they all closed in a little more, trying to mask Bella’s scent. These were human feeding vampires, helping to save my mate. I couldn’t have felt happier about it, considering the situation. I pulled Bella behind me, to put one more person in-between her and them. We all stood staring, starting to hear the stomping of their approach. 

  


“The red coats are coming, the red coats are coming...” Garret said, lightly chuckling to himself. I shot him a dark look, which made him grin even wider. 

  


I saw Eleazer and Carlisle slip into the front of the group. They knew the Volturi better than anyone, both having lived with them for many years. Mother and Carmen were standing just behind them, the Egyptians to the left, Irish to the right, nomads in the center. Alastair was hedging a little bit behind me and Bella, with my siblings all standing directly in front of me. I knew that they would still be able to smell her, there was no avoiding that. But I hoped that we could mask it enough for them to ask their questions and leave. 

  


The first of the guard stepped through the forest wall and into the clearing. Most were people I didn’t recognize, but I knew a few of them from Carlisle’s memories. Jane, Alec, Demetri, Felix and Chelsea were leading, Aro, Marcus and Caius immediately following. The rest of the guard were sort of spread out on either side, though the wives and witnesses hung behind all of them. They stopped just past the opening to the meadow and stared at us, eyes also shooting to the smoke from the giant fire in the center. 

  


Carlisle and Eleazer stepped forward. “We greet you, old friends,” Carlisle said, his voice masking his fear I could hear in his thoughts. “We did not expect to see you today.” 

  


Aro’s thoughts were running wild at the sight of all of us. He focused in on the different covens, almost itemizing who was there in his head. I could see the wheels turning of who he wanted to join him; and the next thought shocked me to my core. He was considering what charges he could drum up in order to persuade those around him to fight. He knew enough of Carlisle’s family to want me and Mother, at minimum. Aro was also considering Eleazer, because he knew that identifying gifts was extremely important. 

  


“Carlisle! Eleazer! My old friends,” Aro said, a smile brightening his face. I could tell it was a mask for concern he was thinking, seeing so many of us in one place. “How wonderful to see you again.” 

  


Aro held out his hand, hoping one of them would step forward. Carlisle and Eleazer glanced at each other, and Carlisle was the one to step forward. He walked cautiously up to Aro, holding out his hand and grasping the one reaching out. I watched in fascination how Aro sifted through Carlisle’s mind, catching up on everything. Unfortunately, this also meant he knew Bella was in the meadow with us. 

  


Aro raised his eyes to Carlisle's. “Nasty business, this newborn army. I see that you and your friends have taken care of the problem though.” 

  


“It’s not normal for us to be rendered useless,” Caius spit out, his thoughts swirling in anger. He had wanted the fight, and was unhappy about not getting what he wanted. 

  


“We did not think to call upon you, Aro,” Carlisle said, calmly. “We assessed the threat and took care of it. I only thought it best to eliminate the concern before it got even bigger.” Though he seemed calm on the outside, he thought at me, Edward, Aro knows about Bella now. We have to be ready to defend her if necessary. He glanced back and me and I nodded once, indicating I had heard him. 

  


“What a wonderous thing,” Aro said, thinking anything but what he was saying. “That you were so fortunate to not have any losses on your side, and managed to eliminate not only the newborn army but their creator.” 

  


I stiffened as I glanced over at Jane and Alec. They were furious at missing out on the fight, and were readying their gifts in case Aro asked to use them. Aro’s mind was undecided at how to proceed, but I sensed Mother's thoughts at what was going on. I glanced over at her, watching her sifting through the choices available. Aro was wavering on a decision, but if he made it, we were going to have to fight. And I was going to have to run with Bella as fast as I could to get her away. 

  


“I thank you for saving us the trouble, dear ones. I am just surprised that so many of you are here.” Aro was not happy, nor thankful. Carlisle could sense as much. 

  


“My apologies if we stepped on anything, my friend. We were simply trying to solve a problem before it got bigger, as I said.” Carlisle took a step backwards. “We were just going to tell our friends that they could go home before you got here.” 

  


Aro’s eyes glanced back at Alice, flitting to me briefly. “Yes, your Alice had a vision of us coming.” Now his thoughts were consumed on getting Alice along with Mother and myself. Charlie briefly entered into his mind, but he wasn’t as concerned about a shield, since he had one already. 

  


The silence was almost deafening as I listened to Aro’s mind. I watched him weight his options. He reached over and grabbed on to Caius’ and Marcus’ hands. They deliberated; Caius was furious at the loss of a battle, and angry that Carlisle had managed to get so many people to show up to help us. Marcus wanted to go home, and didn’t really care either way. Aro focused in on Caius’ anger, and made a decision. 

  


Alice’s gasp brought me out of Aro’s thoughts, watching the scene unfold. It was battle, pure and simple. Aro had made a choice to defend the king’s rights he felt he had; that we had taken away from him by destroying the newborn army. He was unhappy so many people would blindly follow Carlisle, and that none of us seemed afraid of the Volturi. That was not what he wanted; he wanted the blind fear and respect from all vampires, and his loss in this field meant that people didn’t fear the power he felt he had. 

  


I grabbed Bella, who was standing behind me, a little closer as Aro straightened up and dropped Marcus and Caius’ hands. “Friends, I fear I must be concerned regardless. We have made mention to many of you in the past that should there be a threat that you call us. We are your servants, after all, to eliminate concern throughout the world. I am disappointed that you did not trust us enough to counter the threat before taking it on yourself.” 

  


“We meant no offense, Aro,” Mother said, stepping up to stand next to Carlisle. “Please understand that your decision has consequences. The path forward is not a good one for you if you do this.” 

  


He regarded her with a small smile. I watched a flick of his wrist toward Carlisle and Mother, and I had to stop myself from launching across the meadow toward them. Jane’s power hit them before they knew what was happening. Esme and Charlie didn’t have the restraint I did, and flew to stand in front of them as Carlisle and Mother felt to the ground in agony. Charlie threw himself in-between Aro and the group, raising his hands as Esme stood behind him. 

  


It was the vision I had seen of him so long ago, protecting her and the rest of us. I watched in fascination as Jane’s power was rebounded on her, causing her to collapse in pain. Carlisle, Mother and Esme turned and hurried toward the rest of the group, while Charlie stood his ground. His anger was palpable, as was the shock on Aro’s face. 

  


“Charlie, is it?” Aro asked, shock evident in his voice. “You are a newborn? And with such control over your gift.” 

  


Charlie didn’t say anything, but nodded. He kept his arms stretched out, but I didn’t understand why until I heard an angry grunt from Alec. He had been trying to get past Charlie, but it hadn’t worked. It was rebounded as well, and soon Alec had to stop or he would have been overcome by his anesthetizing power. Esme glanced at me and I nodded toward Charlie. She ran up to him, pulling slightly on his arm. His brain was still fuzzy to me, even as a vampire, but it looked like he didn’t want to move. 

  


“Charlie, please come with me,” Esme whispered, pulling on his arm again. He relented and turned around to walk back to the rest of us. 

  


I saw it before it happened. “Emmett, Jasper, go!” 

  


Felix and three other guard members rushed forward, but Emmett acted the second I yelled at him. He jumped high, landing in front of Charlie and Esme. Jasper used his power to try and calm them down, but it didn’t work as well as he wanted. Emmett and Felix started fighting while the other two started attacking Esme and Charlie. Jasper, Rose, Tia and Benjamin rushed forward to help them. Mother, Carlisle, Carmen and Eleazer, ran toward the guard sneaking around to the right side, while Alice, Kate, Tonya, Irena and Garret went to the left. Amun and Kebi hung back, as did Alastair, while Charlotte, Peter and the other two nomads I didn’t know rushed forward to join the fight. 

  


I knew I couldn’t stay. I wanted to desperately join in to help my family, but Bella had to be my priority. I picked her up, turning quickly, running as fast as I could in the opposite direction. I passed Sam’s pack, sitting in the forest about a mile away from the fight. “Sam, please, go and help them. I’m getting Bella away from here!” 

  


He nodded at me, and the pack rushed forward, save one. A smaller gray wolf hung back at Sam’s command. I heard him be commanded to follow me to help protect Bella. I didn’t have time to wonder about it, Bella was wrapped around me, legs circling my body, and I ran as fast as I could. The only thought I had in my head was get her away. 

  


We were almost 30 miles away before I slowed. I hadn't been able to sense my family or the Volturi for some time, but I had to stop running. We were getting further into the mountains and I didn’t want Bella to freeze to death while we were waiting. 

  


I turned to the wolf, who sat down next to me. “Seth, can you scout for me? See if there are any structures that we can get Bella to anywhere close? A house, a shed, anything.” 

  


Sure, I thought I smelled something a minute ago. Be right back. I was grateful for him; he had a kind mind, and seemed to not be too bothered by me. Though, I could sense he was a little upset about missing the fight. I set Bella down carefully, and looked down at her. I cursed myself as I took in her terrified look. 

  


“I’m so sorry, love. I didn't have time to tell you what was going on.” 

  


“Uh, I mean, ok, but what the hell was going on? I couldn’t hear most of it, and then everyone was just rushing...Dad was standing in front of the huge group of v-vampires...” Her voice trailed off, and her eyes were wide. She started shaking and her face had gone pale. 

  


“Here, love, sit down. Seth is looking for a place for me to take you. I’ll make a fire or something once we find a place, for now though I need to keep you safe here.” I almost forced her to sit down, putting my arms around her. I knew that my skin wasn’t going to help the cold, but for now I was just trying to comfort her. I knew she was freaking out, maybe going into shock, so comfort was more important than anything else. 

  


She leaned against me, still shaking. “No, I mean, I’m fine, I think. I’m not cold or whatever. I just, um, I want to know what’s going on. Do we know why they were fighting? What happened?” 

  


I explained to her what I knew, based on Aro’s thoughts. Wanting the gifted among us, anger at missing out on the fight, the ego bruise they received when we took care of the newborn army. I wanted her to know everything. 

  


“This Aro sounds like a jackass,” Bella said, huffing out a laugh. “A child whose Mom took a toy away. Wanting everything he can’t have.” 

  


“I guess we’ll just have to give it back to him, hmm?” I whipped my head around to see Demetri step from behind a tree. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, I know how bad it is to leave it here...I’m sorry! Next chapter coming on Wednesday, hopefully you will all enjoy. 
> 
> Thanks to you to who have been reading and reviewing - I love you all! Please be sure to read my other stories, including the one still ongoing: Consuming Love. Thank you all of you! 
> 
> Thanks also to my betas: my sister and my beta, zombified419. I appreciate you both!


	21. The Gifted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so, listen. I am sure that none of you will be very happy with me, but......this chapter does not resolve the cliffy I left in chapter 20....<> I’m sorry! If I promise to post earlier than Saturday this week, does that make up for it? I promise Chapter 22 resolves the cliffy. Stick with me folks, I promise it’s worth it. Ok??

Chapter 21: The Gifted 

  


Esme 

  


I knew that Charlie was strong and could handle himself; but that didn’t stop the absolute terror when I heard Edward call out to Emmett and Jasper. I knew he would only have done that if there was an imminent threat. As soon as he called out, Emmett acted. I saw him jump up, and I swiftly turned to see what was coming behind me. I was hit with force by a member of the guard, while the other one went after Charlie. There was nothing but the sounds of metal-on-metal scraping noises as the fighting broke out all over the meadow. 

  


I jumped back up and rushed toward the man who had hit me. His eyes were glued to mine, a slight sneer on his face. He rushed forward, putting his arm out as if to grab me. I evaded him, skirting to the side and then brought my arm across his back. His pace stuttered a little as I hit him, but he recovered quickly. He jumped back, reaching for my arm and wrenching it to the side. For a moment I thought he would take it clean off. Charlie saw this though, and hit him right in the chest, pushing him several feet backward. 

  


“Benjamin, now!” I heard Liz yell. 

  


“Everyone, down now!” was Benjamin’s reply. I didn’t even think; I grabbed Charlie’s hand and fell to the ground, making sure he came with me. The Volturi were momentarily stunned, just staring at us. Then I watched them look up, almost at the exact same time, terror on their faces. 

  


I heard the swirling of wind, and there was heat coming from the sky. I didn’t dare look up, I had to focus on keeping Charlie on the ground. I trusted Liz, who trusted Benjamin, so I wouldn’t get up until they told us to. 

  


Out of the corner of my eye I saw fire in the sky, but it was a swirl; unlike anything I had ever seen before in my life. This made me curious, so I shifted a little so I could look up. The sight in front of me amazed and terrified me like nothing else had in my entire life. 

  


Fire swirled around in a tornado style wind, directly above the Volturi. We were all spreading out on the meadow, but the focus of this fire tornado was above where Aro, Caius and Marcus were, with their witnesses and the wives. Many of the group were struggling to keep their footing as the immense wind was trying to pull them into the sky. Several of the guard ran to protect the three leaders, falling to the ground and grabbing them by the feet. This didn’t help all of them, though. 

  


I watched in fascination as at least a dozen members of the guard, half of the witnesses and several trees were lifted up into the sky, only to burn as they entered the fire tornado above us. Howls of anger were heard all over the meadow at this point. I turned and watched Benjamin, hands raised in concentration, lift his arms higher raising the flying fire even higher. He pressed his hands together and shifted so that the fire started to move in the sky. I saw the outline of several vampires in the middle, but I couldn’t see any faces. The heat from the fire was still extremely high, so it must be burning them faster than normal. 

  


Benjamin continued to turn and shift the fire, as everyone in the meadow was still frozen in shock. He shifted enough so that it was immediately over the fire we had started earlier for the newborn army bodies. Once he was directly above it, he spread his arms out killing the fire in the sky. The still burning Volturi bodies dropped unceremoniously into the newborn fire, continuing to burn. 

  


The mood on the meadow had shifted at this point. Whatever the Volturi’s motivation to fight us before became even worse now. The rage and shock made them fight even harder. We all started jumping up to resume the fight. I watched Tia run to Benjamin, who was teetering slightly. He had exerted himself by creating that, and honestly, I was impressed. 

  


I continued to fight with the insistent guard trying to kill me, but Charlie came up and grabbed his head, ripping it off. Without saying anything, we turned to the next one coming up behind us. There were two this time, so we started the dance all over again. 

  


I kept my mind focused on the guard, as their anger made them even more unpredictable. Unfortunately, Jane had other thoughts. I felt pain rock through my entire body, and I collapsed. It was more intense than anything I'd felt since I made the change so many years ago. I heard Charlie call out in anger, before I felt the pain dissipate. I glanced up at Jane, who wore a mask of pure evil and anger, right before Emmett ran into her full force. 

  


Glancing around, I realized that Jasper and Emmett had taken care of Felix, while Charlie had gotten the other two guards we had been fighting before Jane took me down. Emmett took off toward Jane, while Jasper went for Alec. Charlie stood there ready to protect them, and me, should either of them try to use their power. Emmett got the better of Jane faster than I would have thought, disconnecting her head from her body. 

  


Alec’s face was filled with sadness for just a moment before it turned to pure hatred. He focused his gift on Emmett, not seeing Jasper running up behind him. Charlie easily deflected Alec’s power, just as Jasper made it to him. Jasper grabbed him by the arms, slicing them clean off, before tearing his torso in half. He threw the pieces into the growing fire, as Aro and Caius stepped forward. 

  


Carlisle and Eleazer ran up to them, with Liz and Carmen hot on their trail. I motioned for Charlie to follow them, to make sure there were no other gifted vampires around that could cause problems. Emmett and Jasper had taken care of Jane and Alec, and were fighting their way through the guard to get to Aro and Caius also. 

  


The two kings were focused on Carlisle and Eleazer, though, and were not paying attention to anything behind them. The force of the four of them hitting made a loud crashing sound that reverberated over the meadow. The witnesses began rushing forward; whoever was left after the fire tornado, anyway. 

  


I took the breather for a second, as I was pushed to the ground roughly by one of the Volturi. I rolled around to the edge of the battle and took in the sight in front of me. Alice and Tonya were fighting three guard to the left, while Kate and Garret were taking down another one just to the right of them. Irena and Laurant – who I hadn’t actually seen until now – were to the left with two others. I saw the Irish coven falling under the weight of the guard, along with several of the nomads. Benjamin’s fire display had only gotten rid of a quarter of the Volturi. 

  


Just as I started to panic that we were going to fall under the sheer numbers of the guard, I saw Sam’s pack enter the meadow. They all separated and began tearing the Volturi off of us, getting the upper hand again. The Volturi numbers were easily twice ours, even after the fire tornado. But Sam’s pack were relentless. 

  


I shifted to glance around for Charlie, just to see him with three guard on top of him. I started to run toward him to help, when a brown wolf ran up tearing the first guard off of him. I ran over and grabbed the second, freeing Charlie to take on the third by himself. The three of us bested the guard, and the wolf sat down in front of Charlie, his head hanging. 

  


“Jake?” Charlie asked, staring up at the large wolf. He nodded slightly before another guard jumped him. We would have to save the apologies for later; though I wasn’t sure I really wanted to hear what Jake had to say. Charlie glanced at me and I could see my thoughts mirrored on his face. Then, he turned and continued the fight. 

  


I pushed forward as well, fighting as Liz came up beside me to help. Carlisle and Eleazer were still fighting with Aro and Caius, while Marcus had shifted back toward the outer edge of the battle. It didn’t look like he was interested in getting into the fray at all. He had shifted back, taking the wives with him, so they were all just standing in the back. 

  


I ignored him for the moment, trying to get to Carlisle and Eleazer. I had momentarily forgotten about them while I was inspecting the rest of the battle. Benjamin and Tia ran up and started helping Liz and I push through the guard. Benjamin’s power was impressive, being able to pull limbs off with just a flick of his hand. The wind pushed around me when he was near, and it made me realize just how powerful he truly was. 

  


“Esme, we are missing one,” Liz breathed into my ear. I jerked my head toward hers as I ripped the guard’s arm off that we were fighting. 

  


“What?” I said, distracted, not understanding what she meant. 

  


“I don’t know his name, but one of them ran off. I think he went after Edward and Bella.” 

  


At that comment, Charlie’s face became scared. “We have to go after them!” That break gave the guard he was fighting time to get his arms around Charlie, attempting to crush him. Kate came running up, using her power to bring the guard down, allowing Charlie to get his head off, tossing it to the fire. 

  


Liz shook her head, jumping on the back of another guard that had run up to us. She grabbed his head, holding it stead, while I kicked his chest, causing them to disconnect. “We have to trust that Edward can handle it. We need to stay here; it’s the only choice we have if we want everything to work out.” 

  


“What do we need, Liz? Earthquake? Another firenado?” Benjamin asked, his face breaking out in a grin. 

  


“Earthquake, please. Shake until everyone falls, that will give us an advantage.” 

  


Before the entire sentence had come out of her mouth, I felt the ground below me start to shake. This rattled everyone, and I scanned the meadow watching them all lose their footing. No one had been expecting it, so almost everyone fell to the ground as the shaking got worse. Benjamin and Liz were the only two that had braced themselves, so they didn’t fall. 

  


Benjamin had a fierce look on his face as he increased the shaking in the ground. He continued this until everyone had fallen, except Liz, then he ceased the quake, grabbing the nearest guard and threw him, whole, into the fire. 

  


My family and friends recovered before the Volturi did, spinning into action. I estimated that only half the guard was left, making the numbers a little more even than they had been before. I saw Sam’s pack continuing to move through them as if they were battering rams, while the gifted among us took point on all of the battles. Charlie was currently fighting with a woman, who had been hovering near Aro the entire time. I ran up and helped him kill her, before placing my hand on his back. He shifted, leaned down to kiss me quickly, before taking off toward Aro and Caius. 

  


Now that we had thinned the guard a little, I could see the battle between the four of them easier. Carlisle and Aro were facing off, faces stoic and calm, while Caius wore a mask of rage, currently attacking Eleazer. Charlie, Liz, Jake and I continued to push into the battle, so we could help Carlisle and Eleazer. Right as we got there, Caius tore one of his arms off, causing a gasp from the rest of us. 

  


Amun, who I had not seen enter the fight, rushed forward then, pinning Caius down. Jake pushed past and ran up to Caius, grabbing him with his strong teeth. He began dragging him toward another wolf, who was already licking his chops. He pushed forward until the other wolf was close, who then pounced on Caius, disconnecting every limb on his body, before taking his head clean off. 

  


Carmen ran up to Eleazer, grabbing the arm and pulling him to the side of the battle. I saw her working to reconnect his arm, as Amun rushed to help Carlisle with Aro. I ran up also, coming up behind him. I couldn't see his face but I could tell he was angry about Caius. I was about to jump at Aro when I felt arms around me from behind, pulling me back away from the fight. Carlisle and Amun jumped at Aro as I shifted around to see who was holding me. 

  


“This is a long feud, my dear. Let them.” I stared into Marcus’ eyes. He didn’t look upset, in face he looked almost happy. “They have freed me. You all have.” 

  


“I don’t understand, Marcus. Freed you?” He continued to pull me back until I was at the edge of the battle with the wives. They were watching the battle, but not moving. 

  


“Chelsea. Your mate killed her, and I am free.” 

  


“What? Who?” I couldn’t process this right now. I needed to get back to the battle to help. I couldn’t even see Charlie where I was at! 

  


“Chelsea. Her power is to manipulate relationships. I would have left or killed myself long ago had it not been for her. Thank you, dear one.” He smiled down at me. “And thank Charlie, too.” 

  


I didn’t have a clue what to say to him. I didn’t know about Chelsea, but it made sense that Aro would have someone like her around. I briefly wondered just how many people felt invisible bonds to Aro fall when she died. 

  


“I need you to help me now, dear one,” Marcus was saying, a small smile on his face. “Now that I am free, I wish to die. Will you please make sure that happens today?” 

  


Shocked, I stood up straight, wiggling out of his arms. “You want me to kill you?” 

  


Marcus frowned, looking down into my eyes. “Aro killed my mate many years ago. An existence without her is not worth living, dear one. I am tired and wish to rest.” 

  


The sadness in his eyes made me glance over at the battle again. I couldn’t see Charlie because there were too many people in-between us, but I knew that if I lost him, I wouldn’t be able to function either. I felt for Marcus, I could empathize with what he was going through. Which made me not want to harm him. 

  


I shook my head. “I cannot end your life, Marcus. You are a good man. A kind person who does not want this way of life. I can sense that in you.” 

  


“Please? I cannot live without her.” His voice broke my heart. One of the wives walked over to him, putting her arms around him. “Athenodora, please.” 

  


Athenodora closed her eyes, keeping Marcus close. “We will help you. Come, Sulpicia, Marcus. Let’s get out of here. Aro and Caius have met their matches, and are finally getting what they deserve.” 

  


I was shocked listening to her, watching Sulpicia nod in agreement. Weren't they mates of Aro and Caius? Neither of them looked upset by what was happening here at all. Then I figured it out. 

  


“You aren’t their mates; it was Chelsea for you as well?” The women nodded as they started to walk away from the battle. 

  
“Be well, dear one. Please tell Carlisle I am sorry for what happened here.” Marcus smiled sadly at me, as he was led away. I made no attempt to stop them, I couldn’t feel any remorse about it either. None of them had wanted this; wanted to be here to hurt my family. 

  


I turned around and pushed back into the battle, just in time to watch Aro fall under Charlie, Carlisle and Amun. He never had a chance. The rest of the battle appeared to be going the same way. I watched as the fire grew as bodies were dumped into it, eventually worrying it would get out of control. I was about to rush back into the fight when I remembered what Liz had told us about one getting away. 

  


Without thinking about it, I took off running in the direction that Edward had taken Bella. I knew I would probably be too late to help, but I had to try regardless. I knew that Liz, Alice, Jasper and Benjamin at minimum would keep the fight in the meadow, helping to stop everything. I didn’t have any gifts of my own, so I had to rely on all of them. Plus, I knew Charlie was stronger than most of them and would be fine. I kept my heart full of hope as I continued to run, following Edward and Bella’s scent through the forest. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you enjoyed the battle. I wanted to add some things I wished I had seen in the Volturi fight at the end of the story in the books, and make better use of Benjamin, too! 
> 
> I know, I know. But I hope you all don’t hate me too much for delaying the resolution. I had to show how we get to the next steps; I hope you’ll forgive me. And I promise to post the next chapter before Saturday for everyone. Be kind in your reviews! :) 
> 
> Thanks again to my sister and my beta zombified419 for reading and helping me with this. And, if it helps, neither of them were happy about this chapter not resolving the cliffy either. Again, I hope you all forgive me!


	22. Fate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that none of you are reading, so I won’t say much. Just, thank you for sticking with me and my story! 
> 
> And now, the exciting conclusion to Chapters 20 and 21!

Chapter 22: Fate 

  


Bella 

  


I have always been able to compartmentalize well. Even as a child I could focus on one problem, ignoring other issues around me, and not freaking out about it. I remembered when I was a kid how my mother was so flighty and forgetful, and how it used to frustrate me. But even as young as I was, I would still sort the mail into bills, take out the checkbook and ensure everything was taken care of. Then I would play – though it was usually after I had started laundry, or made dinner, or something. That was just the way it had to be when Renee was around. 

  


But as I found myself within sight of a vampire with bright red eyes, staring at me like I was his next meal, I could feel the terror rising in my chest. There was no calming breath that would help, or sitting down and sorting through issues to be done. It was me and him; even Edward had faded away into the sidelines. 

  


I hadn’t even felt like this when I was in Victoria’s cabin. That was more a preservation act, for those I loved. This was different. As soon as he stepped out from behind a tree, I could tell that there would be no keeping me alive this time. He didn’t care to see anyone I loved hurt, and thus wouldn’t keep me alive to watch them suffer. No, he was waiting to kill me. 

  


He and Edward just stared at each other for a while. I knew that Edward was reading his thoughts, and I would have given anything to know what was going on inside that head. But here I was, pressed against a tree, desperately scared and trying to figure out how to get out of this situation. I had no idea why they were so silent and staring at each other so intently. 

  


“Did you hear everything you wanted?” the vampire sneered at Edward. 

  


Edward brought himself out of a crouch, standing up, still in-between me and the vampire. “Demetri, I know what your orders are, but we are not a threat to you or the Volturi. Bella is my mate; surely you understand that I cannot allow her to be harmed.” 

  


Demetri laughed. “You know that doesn’t matter.” 

  


Edward sighed. “I guess it doesn’t.” And then he was a blur. He was rushing toward Demetri so fast I could hardly see him. Unfortunately, Demetri started moving also, and then they were both blurs. 

  


I tried to watch carefully to see what was going on, but it was just giving me a headache. Instead, I sort of unfocused my eyes and pressed myself up further into the tree. I was trying to make no sounds, so that I didn’t get the attention of Demetri. I wondered briefly where Seth had gone, and if others would be coming to help us. But I shook my head at that notion. The others were fighting the impossible numbers of the Volturi; I didn’t want any of them to come to my aid, they all needed to stay where they were or we would have losses. 

  


“It’s interesting that you chose a human for your mate,” Demetri was saying, as he and Edward blurred around each other in the forest. “You know the rules about humans, don’t you? Surely Carlisle told you.” 

  


“I know the rules, Demetri.” Edward didn’t stop moving, though. 

  


He had told me some about the Volturi in our time in the cabin, but I really didn’t understand why they were needed. So, the laws were to keep vampires quiet; why did they need an entire castle of guards to obey that? It didn’t make any sense to me. If they had a full justice system, even close to what we had as humans, then maybe I would have understood. 

  


“Aro isn’t here because of a broken law, or anything like that, Demetri and you know it,” Edward was saying. “He’s here because he wanted a fight. The only reason why the fight broke out between us now is because he was thwarted with the newborn army.” 

  


“Are you trying to talk me out of this fight?” Demetri laughed again. “How simple your mind is...perhaps it’s the diet. Maybe animals make you stupid; they certainly make you weaker.” 

  


Without notice, I watched Seth jump on to Demetri. Edward had kept him focused and Demetri had missed Seth sneaking up beside them. Frankly, so had I. I thought about staying next to the tree, but I wondered if it was better if I ran. Maybe getting the smell of my blood away from the vampire would be safer for me. Seth and Edward could probably take him down together, but on the off chance that he did get away, I didn’t really want to be that close. 

  


I watched the three of them struggling, Demetri always getting out of their grasps, for a short time before making up my mind. I stood up and started to run. I made sure I was running in the direction Edward had, meaning I didn’t really want to end up back in the meadow filled with over a hundred vampires. But I didn’t know this area, and had no clue where to go. 

  


I didn’t hear anyone following me, so I breathed a sigh of relief. I kept going, though I slowed down considerably. I was still processing the Volturi showing up, the fight that was starting when Edward took me and left, and the fact that this guy had followed us from the meadow to kill us. I really couldn’t focus on that, though, I had to make sure I didn’t fall. Breaking skin right now seemed like a very bad idea. Vampires were like sharks, right? They could smell blood for miles. 

  


So, I kept my head down, focusing on the underbrush of the forest, stepping as fast as I could while being careful. I had never been to this part of the world before, but I really couldn’t focus on how beautiful it was. At the moment, my terror was winning out. 

  


After walking for who knew how long, I came to a large stream. I was exhausted and just desperately wanted to curl up and sleep, but I pushed on. I didn’t even attempt the cross the fast-moving river, just opted to walk alongside it. After a while of walking alongside, I decided I couldn’t go anymore. I sat down next to the river, leaning against a tree, and let the day sink into me. This was most likely my last day on earth anyway. If Demetri didn’t find me, some wild animal would. Or I would freeze to death when the sun went down. 

  


Whichever way it happened; I just knew that this was it. I fought tears as I stared across the river. I hadn’t been able to say good bye to Renee; I had no idea if my father was safe; I had no way of knowing if Edward had made it through the vampire’s assault; and I didn’t know if any of my friends were still alive in the meadow. I felt the sadness creep over me, settling in; I couldn’t think about what they were going through, or I would only feel worse. 

  


I pulled the hood over my head as a cold breeze hit me, coming across the river. I figured then that I would die from freezing to death. The sun was going down, and I had on a jacket and some jeans. No real help in the frigid wilderness. 

  


“I love you, Edward. I’m sorry that I put you through so much. I hope that you survived, and that all of your family did as well. Take care of my father, will you? Make sure he and Esme are happy together. And...be happy, yourself.” I spoke as if he were there because I needed to say all of those things. I could feel my eyes drooping. The day was catching up to me, and I couldn’t do anything else but curl up on the ground and close them. 

  


Edward 

  


I watched Bella slip out of the area, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn’t want her too close to Demetri, though I also didn’t really want her wandering around the forest. She had the right idea to get away from him, though. I was fairly confident that he wouldn’t be able to track her, as his thoughts hadn’t indicated being able to pick up on the tenor of her mind. But I had to be cautious, just to be safe. 

  


Seth was on top of Demetri, and I ran over to help. I was just about to tear his arms off when I was grabbed from behind. Two of the Volturi guard had followed Demetri, and once again, I hadn’t heard them. I never missed hearing thoughts as people got close, but now I had missed three of them! Shocked to my core, I forgot to fight back for a second. Unfortunately, that was the second they needed. 

  


One of them had a power similar to Kate’s, except that it wasn’t pain I was experiencing, it was numbness. I felt it radiate through my body, and I couldn’t move. I could still hear and see, so it wasn’t like Alec’s power, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t move my body at all. I tried to look to the side to see where Seth was, but I couldn't move my neck. I couldn’t hear his thoughts, or anyone else’s. The numbing power must cut off my gift. 

  


“Well, looks like we got the upper hand on the human-lover and the werewolf,” Demetri sneered, walking closer to me. “Now, where did that human go, I wonder? I’ll just have to find her while my friends take care of you.” 

  


“Stay away from her,” I growled at him, barely able to move my mouth. 

  


He threw his head back in laughter, causing dread to rise in my body. Bella was out there in the freezing wilderness, Demetri was a maniac with no regard for human life, and I couldn’t do anything to stop him. I continued to try and move my body, any part of my body, but I was held steady. There was no way I was going to be able to move with this vampire holding me. 

  


I heard Seth growl, so I knew he was close by. I inhaled through my nose, realizing that Seth was closer than I had originally thought. He must have been captivated by the vampire holding me hostage, or I wouldn’t have smelled him so sharply. I would give anything to hear their thoughts right now; being able to tell what was coming would be a gift. 

  


Demetri stared at me, continuing to laugh. “The mind reader that Aro told us about. That's hard on you right now, isn’t it? Being held and not knowing what was going on. It's amazing, actually, Francis can also block Aro’s abilities. He's quite an asset, wouldn’t you say?” 

  


“Let me go, Demetri, and we can finish this. Tell him to let me go, so we can fight like men.” I still couldn’t move, so my words came out of my clenched mouth. 

  


“And spoil my fun with the human? I think not. I’ll just have to track her down, now won’t I?” 

  


“You can’t find her; she’s silent to me, and I am sure she is silent to you.” 

  


“Ah, but you see, it’s only vast distances that cause me to use my power. Short ones, such as the trek she took, are easy. Even if I can’t find her mind, I can still smell her,” he said, flashing his teeth at me. His eyes jerked up to the guard still holding me. “Kill them both. We don’t know how the battle is going, so carry the pieces far up the hill before burning them to ashes.” 

  


“Yes, Demetri,” the one standing next to me, not holding me, said. 

  


I watched Demetri start to move away from us, hearing him say, “I’ll tell her hi for you.” 

  


I closed my eyes, thinking that surely this was the end. I remembered back to when I met Bella, the way she smelled causing me to contemplate killing an entire room of children just to get to her. Then, how things had changed. How I found my mate, impossibly a human, and how I had seen for just a short time how amazing my life could actually be. The one person I could confess all my sins to, who didn’t judge me, who loved me no matter what I said or did. The woman who taught me that I can’t control every situation; that I can’t dictate my will in her life. The stubborn yet loving woman wouldn’t let me tell her what to do; and if she thought something was the right thing, she would do it no matter the personal harm it could cause her. 

  


Reliving all the moments, conversations, touches and kisses I'd had with Bella helped me to settle my mind. If I died here, at least I knew she would join me soon after. I couldn’t help her, and I couldn’t help myself either. I desperately needed to tell her how much I loved her, just one last time. So, I spoke to her in my head, so none of the others would hear me. I told her how much she meant to me, how finding her ended a century of loneliness and isolation. I told her that being with her made my dead heart warm, and that even in death I would love her. 

  


I kept my eyes closed, waiting for the blow, not certain I would even feel it. The numbing had taken over my entire body. I didn’t want to see it coming, I just wanted the peace of death. In death I would find her again, I was sure of it. Now that I knew she was out there, my perfect match in every way, I felt sure the universe would let me find her in the next life – whatever that ended up being. My heart filled with hope as I heard a crunching sound behind me. 

  


I wasn’t expecting to be dropped, falling to the ground, gaining feeling in my limbs again. I stood up slowly, turning around. Esme stood behind the guard, holding his head in her arms, a look of terror on her face. Seth was quickly destroying the other guard, now that he had been set free. 

  


“Esme, quickly! Demetri went after Bella!” I started to run after him, knowing that Seth would take care of the already fallen guard, and the one he was already ripping to pieces. I heard Esme on my trail as I followed Bella’s scent. 

  


We ran through the forest and my senses slowly came back to me. I saw the battle with the Volturi in Esme’s head as she relived it, still concerned over the fight that she had left. But I pushed on. We came to a stream, following Bella’s scent up a short way before coming to a tree. Her scent became minimal at that point, mixing with Demetri’s. 

  


“She was here, I can smell it,” I said to Esme, bending down to touch the earth at the base of the tree. 

  


“He must have found her. I can smell him more than Bella right now,” Esme said, walking up to stand next to me. “Come on, Edward, we need to find them.” 

  


We took off running at that point, following the stream north. I was tracking Demetri now, as I really couldn’t smell Bella any longer. Her scent would come in short waves now and then, so I had to assume she was still with him. I was starting to panic that I would get to her in time, when I finally heard his mind. 

  


“He’s up ahead, in a ranger station. He-” I gasped, picking up speed. “He’s already bit her. He thinks that she’ll be dead soon and is enjoying the way her blood tastes! Esme, we have to run faster!” 

  


We rounded on the ranger station, and I burst into the door. Demetri was shocked and lifted his head away from Bella’s neck. The smell of her blood in the air hit me like a truck, almost bringing me to my knees. I jumped at him, Esme right behind me. She pulled Bella out of the way, while I let the fury loose. I tore at him, biting his neck, desecrating any patch of skin I saw, literally tearing him into pieces. Just as I got his head disconnected from his body, I heard Bella moan. 

  


I turned swiftly, running over to where she was laying, cradled in Esme’s arms. “Bella? Are you ok, love?” I inspected her, noting how pale she was. I could tell that he had drained enough blood from her that there was a significant concern at her remaining alive no matter what the venom was doing. 

  


“E-E-Ed-ward,” she stammered, keeping her eyes closed. “It b-b-burns!” 

  


“I know it does, love, I'm so sorry,” I choked out, trying to keep my voice slow and steady. “I’m here, Bella, I’m not going anywhere.” I looked into Esme’s sad eyes, knowing that she knew exactly what I was going through. “Esme, you need to go back to the battle. They may need you.” 

  


“I don’t want to leave you two, Edward.” Esme’s voice was quiet with restrained sadness. Her thoughts were focused on making sure that Charlie was ok, but she was fighting it. She really did want to stay to help me with Bella. 

  


I reached out and grabbed her hand. “We’ll be fine. Please, go and make sure Seth is ok, and then check on the others. Take him with you to make sure they are safe. I'll stay here with Bella until you guys come back. We'll figure out where to take her once everything is settled.” 

  


She nodded, shifting slightly so I could move Bella into my arms. Esme stood up, glancing back at me before running out of the station. I kept my arms loose around Bella, making sure not to put too much pressure on her. Internally, I cried for the loss of the human Bella that I loved – even while acknowledging that she would at least be safer once she turned. 

  


It was well into the night before I heard the thoughts of my family coming closer. I continued to hold Bella close to me, listening and memorizing the sound of her heart beat. I knew that I would miss that sound once she turned, so I focused on it. It had the ability to completely calm me down when nothing else could, and I wanted to make sure I remembered it forever, as I felt her human life start to slip away. 

  


Esme 

  


It broke my heart to run away from the ranger station, leaving Edward and Bella behind. I could see the pain in his face as he watched her burn from the venom; but there was a sort of peace that surrounded the situation. I was almost sure that she would be dead by the time we got there, Demetri making short work of her small human body. Honestly, it was pure luck that Edward ran as fast as he did and was fueled by so much anger that he couldn’t stop from ripping Demetri to pieces. 

  


Ran past the creek and into the forest, following our trail from before back to Seth. I smelled the fire long before I saw it, so I assumed he had taken care of the vampires. When I got to the area, we had left him, a boy of about 15 was sitting on the ground wearing only cut off shorts, warming himself by the fire. He glanced up at me and smiled. 

  


“Hey, took care of them. They are wishing for marshmallows right about now!” He grinned at me, and I couldn’t help but smile back at him. “I’m Seth, by the way.” 

  


“Esme. Nice to meet you, Seth. Thank you for your help.” 

  


“What happened to Bella? Is she ok? Did you get to her in time?” His face was concerned, and I struggled with how to tell him. 

  


“Sort of,” I said, sitting down next to him, but making sure to keep my distance. “Demetri bit her and was trying to kill her when we got there. Edward killed him, but Bella is in the process of turning into one of us.” 

  


His face was a mask of rage. “What the hell is their problem? Why did they do this?” he asked, his voice going up an octave as he struggled to keep himself calm. 

  


I shook my head, understanding the anger. “I don’t know. They want to be powerful, and we took some of that power away when we handled the newborns on our own. That's what Edward says, anyway.” 

  


“Poor Bella,” Seth was saying, his voice calming. “At least she’s not dead.” He brought his eyes up to mine. “Please, make sure she feeds like you guys do. Don’t turn her into a killer, ok?” 

  


“I promise, Seth. Charlie, Edward and I will watch over her and make sure of that.” I stood up, holding my hand out to him in a gesture of friendship. “Come on, kid. We need to get back to the battle and check on our friends.” 

  


“Things are going well; before I shifted Sam said it was winding down.” He grinned slightly, taking my hand and standing up. “Damn, you guys are really cold.” 

  


“Sounds weird to say it, but you guys are really hot. Your skin almost burned me.” I laughed out loud at how that sounded. It was an easy comradery with this boy, though, and he laughed with me. 

  


“I need to shift, hold on one sec.” He ran behind a tree, and I could hear his shorts being removed. 

  


When he came out, he had changed back into his wolf form, the shorts tied to his back leg. I motioned for him to follow me, and we took off toward the battle. I kept my thoughts focusing on the hope that everyone survived, and our losses would be as close to none as possible. I knew that the tide had been turning when I left, and Seth had assured me that Sam said it was winding down, but that didn’t stop the fear in my heart as we got closer. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well...I hope that was a worthy conclusion! Thanks for sticking with me and waiting oh-so-patiently for this chapter. For some reason I needed to write this in a way that made Bella’s transformation be not at the Cullen’s hands. I guess something inside me just was sure that Edward wouldn’t ever have agreed to it? I’m not sure, but here it is regardless. 
> 
> Not a whole lot left of this story, I'm sorry to say. Though, I do have some surprises coming in the next couple that I hope you will all enjoy. Remember, there are 25 chapters and will be one epilogue as well. Just a few things to wrap up. 
> 
> Please remember to read my other stories: Inappropriate Love and Consuming Love (which is a companion piece to IL, written entirely in Edward’s POV). I always appreciate your support and comments, so thank you all! 
> 
> This weekend is my birthday, so I probably won’t be posting again until maybe Sunday. Still, I'll try and get the next chapter out sooner than next Wednesday, if nothing else. 
> 
> Thanks again to my patient sister and amazing beta zombiefied419. I appreciate you both so much!


	23. Consequences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! I’m glad you guys liked my conclusion to the battle. Now, there are more cleanup efforts in this chapter. I hope you stick with me! After this chapter, only two more to go, along with an epilogue. 
> 
> Also, thank you for the birthday wishes! It was a wonderful day, filled with fun movies and getting a new tattoo (safely, I promise!).

Chapter 23: Consequences 

  


Esme 

  


I knew the smoke was billowing from the battle site, having started it with the remnants of the newborn army, so I focused on getting back to that spot. My nerves were getting the better of me; I was so scared at what we would be getting back to. Seth kept up an easy pace next to me, running as fast as I could. I wasn’t sure how fast he was at first, but he never looked to be straining so I just kept running. 

  


We rounded the bend on the forest, seeing the opening of the meadow in front of us and I had the urge to stop. I needed to calm down. Seth saw me slow, and turned to face me, cocking his head to the side. 

  


“I’m ok, I’m, um, just worried, is all,” I said, lamely, looking up into his concerned face. He lightly grabbed my shirt, pulling me toward the meadow, indicating we needed to keep going. I nodded, and started running again. 

  


At the edge of the meadow, I stopped again, taking it all in. The fire had grown tremendously, and the battle had definitely stopped. Everyone was milling around, huddled in groups. What surprised me the most was that I could see Sam’s pack almost all human, except one light brown wolf. Seth turned around and backed into the forest again, before coming out as a human wearing the shorts again. He smiled and ran over to his friends. I caught the look of sadness on Sam’s face, and began to wonder who we had lost. 

  


I wandered around the clearing, looking through the groups to determine who I couldn’t see. The Irish coven was sitting the closest to the fire, Maggie being attended to by Liam. She was missing her leg from the knee down, but he was licking the wound letting the venom patch it up and heal it. Alice and Jasper were close by, heads together. Rose and Emmett were on the other side of the fire sitting with Kate and Garret. Kate appeared to be distraught, and they were trying to calm her down. 

  


I glanced around a little more, focusing on who else was around me. Eleazer and Carmen were sitting with Carlisle and Liz, Tonya and one of the nomads I didn’t know right next to them. Peter and Charlotte were sitting off to the side by themselves, with Benjamin and his mate Tia between them and Sam’s pack. I didn’t see any Volturi guard colors anywhere, but I could feel that something was off. 

  


I made my way over to Carlisle and Liz, who looked up at me with small smiles. “Charlie?” I asked them, glancing around. 

  


“He’s fine, dear,” Liz said, reaching her hand out to me. “I told him to go hunt. He was having a really hard time with everything from today. He’ll be back shortly.” She looked up at me, calling Alice softly. Alice appeared, smiling widely, sitting down next to Liz and Carlisle. 

  


“So, Bella’s on her way, then?” Alice said, indicating she knew everything already. 

  


I nodded, slumping down next to them, suddenly exhausted. “Edward has her in a ranger station several miles away. Her heart is faint, but the venom is healing her. I think she’ll be ok.” I glanced around again. “Who are we missing? Did we lose anyone?” 

  


Eleazer and Carmen glanced at each other. “We lost a few.” Eleazer sat up straight, putting his arm around his mate. “Irena and Laurant gave their lives to save mine. When Carmen was putting my arm back on, we missed that four guards were about to attack us. They were split apart and thrown into the fire before we could help.” 

  


I bowed my head, wishing for the hundredth time that I could cry. Irena had been a good friend, and Laurant had been good for her. I knew how much this would cost my Denali friends, and I wanted to weep for them. 

  


Benjamin and Tia walked up to us at that point, sitting down next to us. “Amun and Kebi, also. I was focusing on a small group in the back when I heard their cries. I couldn’t get to him fast enough. They died together, at least. It is a small comfort, though.” 

  


I reached out and put my hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry, Benjamin.” 

  


He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Amun was against fighting as a rule. His history with the Volturi made him shy away from anything dangerous. I did not expect him to fight, but he did. He died a hero in my mind.” 

  


“Yes, he did,” I whispered. I glanced around again. “Alastair?” 

  


“He ran off shortly after the fighting started. He didn’t want to be a part of it, and I cannot blame that.” Carlisle looked up at me, tightening his grasp around Liz. “We could have used him, but I would not ask someone to fight who did not want to.” 

  


Nodding, my eyes caught movement to the side of the meadow. I got to my feet and ran as fast as I could, throwing my arms around Charlie as he stepped out of the forest. His arms fastened around me tightly, lowering his forehead to mine. I held on as tight as I could, keeping us in that position. I breathed in his scent, hands wandering down his back to make sure he was still whole. 

  


“Esme,” he whispered, kissing my forehead. “Thank god you are all right.” 

  


I nodded, unable to speak. I just tightened my arms around him and breathed a huge sigh of relief. We had losses, but overall, we were ok. 

  


“Bella?” Charlie asked, leaning back so he could look at me in the eye. “Is she ok?” 

  


I hedged. “Did Alice tell you what she saw?” He shook his head. “Demetri followed Edward, along with two other guard. We killed them, but not before Demetri bit Bella.” 

  


Charlie’s eyes were wide. “Is she safe? Is she turning?” 

  


I nodded, placing my cheek against his chest, his arms tightened around me. “Edward is with her. Yes, she is turning, but at least she’s alive. We were almost too late.” 

  


We stood in that position for some time, just taking in everything that had happened that day. The sky was dark, the only light coming from the fire still blazing in the center of the meadow. I watched Sam’s pack hovering near the fire, eyes sad and not talking. 

  


“Did Sam lose anyone? They all look so sad.” 

  


“They are mourning Bella’s human life, like they did for me when I turned. They are also devastated by the loss of one of their own.” Charlie shifted to look at the pack. “I don’t know who it was, but I watched him be crushed by one of the guard.” 

  


Hearing us, Sam got up and started to walk toward the edge of the meadow where we were standing. Seth followed him. “It was Paul; that’s who we lost. He got cocky and wasn’t paying attention behind him.” Sam looked devastated as he looked at us. “Charlie, I'm glad to see you are all right,” Sam said in greeting. “I wanted to speak with you before, but we didn’t want to shift to human form until the threat was handled.” 

  


“I understand, Sam.” 

  


Sam hesitated for a minute before bringing his hand up. He pushed it toward me, though, not Charlie. “Esme, I want to apologize for Jacob and his actions. I know that this life isn’t what you wanted for Charlie; I can see how much you love him. I know how much it hurts to watch someone you love be hurt.” 

  


His eyes were on mine, and I could tell he was speaking the truth. I held my hand out and grasped his, only mildly shocked by the heat this time. “Thank you, Sam. I know that you do not, um, like our kind. But I appreciate your words regardless.” I stood up straight, stepping away from Charlie slightly, though he kept his arm around me. “No, I didn’t want this life for Charlie. I don’t know any of us who are happy with what we are; but, now, I get to keep him. Forever. That's a selfish reaction, I know, but it makes me happy.” 

  


Sam nodded. “I understand. Believe it or not.” He shifted a little, looking down. “I also want to apologize about the treaty. I know that we ruined it first, and that the doctor just did what he had to in order to save Charlie’s life because of one of us.” 

  


I felt Liz before I heard her. She pushed past me, Carlisle right behind her, walking up to Sam. “We never wanted to break the treaty. I assure you. But,” she said, glancing at me, “we couldn’t let Charlie die. He's too important to all of us. Bella, too. I hope you understand why we did what we did.” Sam nodded, so Liz kept going. “I think it’s time to reinstate the treaty, Sam. We should not be enemies any longer.” 

  


Seth grinned, looking around at us. “To hell with the treaty. Can't we all just be friends now?” 

  


Sam laughed, placing his hand on Seth’s shoulder. “Let’s not get carried away, kid.” He reached his hand out to Charlie this time, who took it without hesitation. 

  


We all laughed, but stopped short as we watched Jacob – in human form – walk up to stand next to Sam and Seth. Sam dropped Charlie’s hand, his eyes shifting to Jake, a warning on his lips. Jake held out his hand as if to stop Sam from speaking. 

  


“Since we are all apologizing,” Jake began, taking a step toward Charlie. “I need to do that also.” 

  


I glanced at Charlie and held up my hand at Jake, mirroring his actions with Sam. “I don’t want to hear it, Jacob.” 

  


His face fell, and he looked at the ground. “I guess I understand why.” 

  


I shook my head. “No, you misunderstand me.” I took a tentative step toward him, placing my hand very lightly on his arm. “How long had it been since you started shifting when you tried to attack me?” 

  


“Um, that was my third time or something.” He didn’t raise his eyes, but he didn’t flinch away from my touch either. 

  


“Do you feel that you were in complete control over yourself? Over your shifting?” 

  


Now he raised his eyes to meet mine. “That’s no excuse. I killed him! My actions forced your hand at this. This is my fault!” 

  


I shook my head again. “Do you blame a child when they spill milk? Because they haven’t learned full control over their arms yet?” 

  


“That’s not the same thing!” 

  


“I think it is. You were brand new to this life, Jake. I know how much you care about Charlie. He's been in your life longer than he has in mine.” I took another step closer, biting back the stench of wolf as it entered my head. I put my arms around him slowly, giving him plenty of time to react. “I forgive you. For acting rashly, for not talking to us first...but also and most importantly, I forgive you because you feel you need it.” 

  


For a moment I just held my ground, but slowly his arms came up and circled me. I knew it was just a gesture, that he was probably holding his breath as I was mine, now. I stepped away quickly, having accomplished what I wanted. Charlie stepped forward, reaching his hand out to Jake, who took it slowly, shaking it once. 

  


Liz smiled at us, her hand entwining with Carlisle’s. “Wonderful. We can discuss later if we must.” She looked at Sam. “Sam, can you and your pack please keep an eye on this fire? I’d hate for it to get away from us up here.” 

  


“Yeah, no problem. I sent Leah and Emry to the cabin to get some food. We'll just hang out here and make sure it doesn’t get out of hand.” He looked down at her. “Where are you heading?” 

  


Liz glanced at Charlie. “To Bella.” 

  


Edward 

  


Bella was too quiet. I had watched enough people turn to know that much. She would moan every now and then, but it was quiet and didn’t last for very long. I kept my arms around her, speaking with her quietly, just letting her know that I was there for her. 

  


“I’m so sorry this happened, love. I'll forever be sorry that I didn’t get here in time to help you. I know there is nothing I can do to fix this, but I am here for you. I'm not leaving your side unless you ask me to when you wake up. I'm here, and I love you.” 

  


I wanted to tighten my arms around her, but I didn’t dare. I just hoped that the cool of my skin was helping the burning lessen in some way. Carlisle didn’t touch me during my transformation, so I couldn’t be sure if that actually helped, but it was all I had. That and my constant talking. 

  


“When you wake up, I'll take you for your first hunt. I know you wanted to see me hunt, and while you were human that was a very bad idea. But I'd love to share that with you after you turn.” I leaned down and kissed her head, she moaned slightly, so I sadly sat back up thinking I wouldn’t be able to do that again. “I can’t wait to show you things once you change. The northern lights are amazing when your eyes can see more clearly. Every speck of dust, every strand of light, and everything else in-between; all of it is so incredible it’s hard to believe that you missed it as a human.” 

  


I continued babbling to her, just wanting her to hear my voice. It was a couple hours before my family showed up. I heard their thoughts as they got closer, and I was immediately calmed. My Mother was leading the group, right next to Esme and Charlie. All my siblings were coming as well; everyone was going to be here for us. 

  


Mother walked in first, coming over to where I sat, leaning against the wall with Bella in my arms. She bent down and kissed first my forehead, then Bella’s. “How is she, dear?” 

  


“She’s changing, Mother. I don’t know more than that. She's very quiet.” 

  


“Listen to her heart, Edward. It's strong. She'll be just fine,” Carlisle said, walking over to stand next to Mother. 

  


Charlie came to sit down next to me, his hand lightly resting on Bella’s arm. She was still covered in blood from Demetri’s attack, and I could tell he was doing his best to ignore the burn in his throat. I glanced up at Alice and Rose, who walked in behind the rest of them. “Can you two please clean Bella up? We don’t need to have fresh blood around.” 

  


They nodded, walking up and picking her up carefully. They took her into the bathroom in the back of the station, and I finally relaxed. 

  


“Thank you for getting here in time, Edward,” Charlie said, leaning against the wall in a human mannerism of exhaustion. “And thank you for killing the bastard that tried to kill her.” 

  


I hung my head in shame. “I’m sorry I was late, Charlie. I tried to save her.” 

  


His hand rested on my shoulder. “I know you did. Getting him away before she died is saving her, Edward. She could have died, but now she won’t.” 

  


I nodded, though I didn’t necessarily agree with him. Mother came to sit down next to me on the other side, putting her arms around me. I closed my eyes and breathed in, calming myself even more. 

  


“You did the best that you could, and we will all be grateful, dear. You saved her life; we all think that.” She kissed my head. “This is the way you needed to go. This is the start of the beautiful choice that I showed you all those months ago, when you first met her. You are on the right path.” 

  


This comforted me more than anything else, remembering how amazing that choice was that she had shown me. I remembered sitting in the forest feeling overwhelmed by the emotions surrounding the choice to get to know her. I remembered seeing the visions from Alice of Bella turning, and how we were happy together. There were countless visions, always crisp and clear like there was already a decision made. Well, I guess Bella would say that her decision was made a while ago. 

  


“I didn’t want this life for her, Mother...” I glanced up as she put her hand on my mouth. 

  


“That’s enough. That's the last time I want to hear you say that. Bella wanted this life; she chose, and you will respect it. No, it didn’t happen the way I'm sure she wanted, but regardless it is what she chose. You will love her and be happy with her, no matter what.” She looked at me sternly. “If you love her, and I know you do, you will stop feeling guilty about that.” 

  


I nodded, thinking back again to all the times I saw Bella as a vampire in Alice’s visions. I knew it would be fine; that she would still love me, and all would be well. The doubt crept into my mind, though, and I couldn’t stop the way I felt. 

  


“Stop, Edward. You’re killing me,” Jasper said, taking a step closer. I felt a wave of calm settle on top of me, and I smiled gratefully at him. “She’s going to be fine. You heard Liz. Stop feeling so guilty.” 

  


“I’ll try. This is harder than I thought it would be.” I sought out the eyes of Esme, knowing she had been through this recently. She smiled in understanding, coming to sit next to Charlie. She grabbed his hand as she sat down, holding tight. 

  


We sat like that for some time until Alice and Rose came out, carrying Bella carefully. They immediately set her down so I could wrap my arms around her again, and she moaned quietly. For a few moments, we all just watched her, not moving and not making another sound. 

  


“We need to take her back to the cabin,” Alice announced, flitting over to where Jasper was standing. “The rangers just made a decision to come up here because of the smoke. They are concerned about a wild fire; they plan to stay here.” 

  


I nodded. “I’ll carry her. Let's get going and see if we have the ability to stop the fire now. We need to make sure they don’t come and visit.” I glanced up at everyone. “We should start sending our friends home now. We need to make sure the rangers aren’t in danger.” 

  


It’s not as critical as you think, dear. I heard my mother say. She started to replay conversations in her head for me, and I almost gasped in surprise. 

  


“How many?” I asked, still unable to believe what I had heard. 

  


“Benjamin and Tia, Garrett, and possibly Charlotte and Peter. They are still deciding, but it’s a good path for them. I encouraged them before we left. The Irish are not willing to even discuss, but are happy to return home soon anyway. Maggie was still being healed when we left, but I'm sure she’s better now.” Mother smiled down at me. “It seems we have started a sort of revolution with the vampire way of life. Now we just have to be careful not to entirely eliminate the animal population.” 

  


I sat there and mulled over what I had heard. So many of our friends were willing to give our lifestyle a shot, stating they wanted to try and exist with humans now that the Volturi threat was a thing of the past. It amazed me, once again, how successful my mother was in convincing people to try new things. This especially had seemed so far-fetched it never even entered my brain as an option. 

  


Most of us started out toward the cabin, Alice and Mother stayed behind to clean it up so the rangers wouldn’t know we had used it temporarily. Carlisle and Jasper lingered around the fire that Seth had started with the two guard that attacked us, making sure they could put it out with any problems. Demetri was still smoldering in the fireplace back at the ranger station. 

  


I carefully avoided the meadow, just in case, and made my way with Bella to the cabin. Everyone but Charlie went to the meadow to start and douse the fire, if they could, and to advise the vampires still sticking to human blood that it was time to head home. Charlie opened the cabin door for me when we got there, letting me inside to carry Bella back to the far bedroom. I laid her down carefully on the bed, smoothing out her dirty clothes. 

  


Once she was settled, I turned around and started rooting in the dresser to locate something clean for her to wear. Alice and Rose hadn’t had any extra clothes, but at least her skin and hair were clean now. I found some jeans and a t-shirt and began to carefully change her. I knew that Charlie was still in the cabin, but was keeping a distance from the bedroom while I changed her. At some point soon, I would probably have to have a conversation about the extent of intimacy that Bella and I had shared, but I was putting it off. No reason to get into that right now. 

  


Once she was dressed, I sat down on the side of the bed, shifting so that I could lay beside her. I put my arm over her stomach, causing her to moan slightly, and curled into her. Her heart was racing, as I knew it would, and I listened to it. Enjoying the calming beats as her human life began to drift away. Charlie came in after a few minutes, leaning against the wall watching her. His eyes flitted to mine briefly; he had a grimace on his face. 

  


“I assume that I don’t need to tell you what I'm thinking,” he started, not moving from the position against the wall. 

  


I shook my head. “I would never hurt her, Charlie. Never.” 

  


“And?” 

  


“And I promise to always keep her close to me. As much as she lets me, anyway. I won’t let her run off again, and I won’t let anyone else put her in danger.” 

  


He nodded, making a grunting noise. I listened to his thoughts, still slightly muted, for a moment longer. I sighed, not moving from my position. “Yes, we have been intimate. I know you don’t want to hear this, but it’s important for me to tell you that I do plan to marry her. I just know that’s not what she wants right now.” 

  


“Esme said you couldn’t hear my thoughts that well. I guess that wasn’t entirely true.” 

  


“I can’t. Not as well as I hear the others, but more than I hear from Bella. I have just gotten good at reading people’s moods after all these years of hearing their thoughts.” I shifted closer to Bella, resting my head next to hers so they were touching. Out of nowhere, my mind was filled with chaotic thoughts, and for a moment I thought I was on fire. 

  


I launched out of the bed, cowering near the door to the bedroom, staring at Bella with wide eyes. Charlie was alert immediately, standing up from the wall and whipping his head around trying to find the threat. I stood, still shocked. 

  


“No, it’s fine. Everything is ok.” I walked toward Bella, crouching next to the bed. I leaned my head against hers, and the exact same sensation filled by head. This time I was prepared for it, though, and I didn’t jump back in shock. “I can hear her!” 

  


I couldn’t focus on Charlie’s shock, or what he was currently thinking. For the first time since I had met her, I could hear her thoughts. When I said out loud that I could hear her, immediately there was relief flooding from her mind. Then sadness. She didn’t want me to know how much pain she was in. I couldn’t get words, exactly, more like sensations and feelings. It was disorienting, quite honestly, as I had never heard anyone’s mind in quite this way before. 

  


“Bella, I'm here, love. I’m not leaving you. You will be ok, sweetheart, I promise.” I kept my head against hers, and I felt her love and understanding. Wordlessly, she conveyed she was ok and expressed that she didn’t want me to worry about her. “I love you, Bella. Don’t worry about me, love. I’m here; I’m not going anywhere.” 

  


“Edward, what is going on?” Charlie finally demanded. 

  


“I can hear her when I touch my head to hers, Charlie!” I said, excitement filling my voice. “She is communicating with me. She's in pain, as we knew she would be, but she’s ok. She loves us both and is happy we are here with her.” 

  


Charlie made his way to the bed, on the other side of me. He sat down and carefully picked up her hand. “I’m here, Bells, just like Edward. We aren’t going to leave you. We will be here the whole time, ok?” 

  


I felt a rush of affection for Charlie, and I told him. Bella was grateful that we were both here with her, but sounded slightly embarrassed about the situation. I huffed a laugh. No matter what she was going through, she was still Bella. 

  


“Don’t worry, love. We will keep everyone else out, ok? Just Charlie and I will stay with you. You have no reason to be embarrassed. All of us have gone through this. We know how it feels.” 

  


She wordlessly told me she understood, and I felt an overwhelming feeling of love coming from her once again. I closed my eyes and reveled in her and how she felt; the feeling of being connected with her, through our minds. I basked in her love and I didn’t move, for fear of losing the connection with her. 

  


Then, she shocked me even more. I hadn’t conveyed any of my thoughts or feelings to her, yet she answered every one of them. She felt the same about me, about being connected like this. She didn’t want to lose the connection either, and was happy we were finally connecting on a different level. 

  


Bella, can you hear me? I asked in my head. She wordlessly answered, and then it sounded like she was almost laughing at me. Of course, she had heard me. I could almost see her eyes roll. 

  


Bella, love, I didn’t say anything out loud. I'm talking to you in my mind. Then, it was her turn to be shocked. While she continued to burn, she started to sort through the fact that she could hear me talking in my head, just as I heard everyone else. For a moment, the burning overwhelmed her and she focused on that, but soon she came back to me and our situation. She didn’t want to focus on the pain, and was more interested in listening to me. 

  


Is it ok if Charlie brings in Eleazer? I asked her, hoping that she would agree. I’d like to get his take on this; it has to be your gift. But I've never heard of this manifesting so early in the transition process. 

  


Her mind was focusing on the burning sensation again, but she pulled herself out quickly. She agreed to allow Eleazer to come in; she was curious about the gift herself. 

  


“Charlie, can you please go get Eleazer? I want to talk to him about Bella’s gift.” I didn’t raise my head, I had to stay connected to her. 

  


“Is Bella ok with him coming in? We told her we would stay and keep everyone else out,” Charlie reminded me. 

  


“Yes, Bella has agreed to let him in. She wants to know what’s going on also.” 

  


Charlie disappeared out the door, and we were alone for a moment. I pressed my lips against her head, telling her over and over again how much I loved her. Not only was she amazing at keeping the burning out of the forefront of her mind, but she could communicate wordlessly with me. The day had gone from horrible to amazing, in just a few short hours. I couldn’t wait for Eleazer to come in so we could discuss just how amazing my mate was. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, thoughts? There were a couple of things when I started this fic that I knew I wanted. I wanted Bella’s power to be a little different than in the books, and I wanted some of the new vamps to focus on being vegetarian. It was important for Elizabeth to be here to help guide them to that choice. All comes full circle, right? LOL. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you are enjoying. More on her gift in the next chapter, which should be up on Saturday as usual. Leave me a review and tell me what you think! 
> 
> My other story, Consuming Love, is also winding down. Chapter 8 to be posted today, with only two left as well. Will finish that one out by Christmas, no doubt. This one may not finish next week due to the epilogue (it’s still being beta’d). 
> 
> Thanks again to my sister and my beta zombified419 for all of your help!


	24. Awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again friends! I hope that everyone had a good week (as good as possible, anyway!). Here is the next installment. I hope you enjoy. Winding down!

Chapter 24: Awakening 

  


Bella 

  


The burning sensation was too much. It was most definitely the worst pain I've ever felt in my life – Edward had been correct in that assessment. As soon as Demetri had bit me, I knew it was coming. I would either die by his hand – or teeth, I suppose – or I would turn. I was oddly at peace with it, though, having already made the decision. I held on to hope that Edward would find me, but I had no idea what was going on where he was. 

  


When Edward had found me, I tried to feel relieved. But all I could feel was the burn coursing through my body, making me feel like I'd thrown myself into fire. It was intense and distracting. But I found that I was able to compartmentalize just as I had when I was a child. I could focus on the noises around me and find comfort in them, rather than focusing on the internal scorching. 

  


I listened as he spoke to me, unable to respond. His words were comforting, though, so I held on to every one of them. I had an uneasy feeling as his family showed up, but none of them seemed to be upset about my change. More like they had accepted that it was inevitable. The worst part was when Alice and Rose were cleaning me up. The warm water made the burning worse, and I wanted to scream at them to take me back to Edward. 

  


“Shh, we know, Bella. We’ll take you back to Edward soon,” Alice had said, always knowing everything that I was thinking. “We will hurry, I promise.” 

  


I wanted to yell at them to hurry, but I still didn’t dare to open my mouth. And I kept my eyes closed. Rose smoothed my hair back, washing the blood out of it. “I know what you are going through, Bella. We all do. Just trust us that you won’t want this much blood around Charlie right now, or around yourself when you wake up.” 

  


That had actually calmed me down. Then I allowed them to get it all off me; no use in making Charlie uncomfortable, or making it harder on myself when I woke up. I laid there as calm as I could, baking in the oven that was lit under my skin, and allowed them to do whatever they needed to do to clean me up. 

  


Once I was safely in Edward’s arms, I immediately felt better. When he touched me that part of my body seemed to cool considerably, and I wanted to snuggle in closer to him. I still couldn’t move for fear of losing all control. So, I held on, stayed still, and tried to keep my mouth glued shut. 

  


Running had been horrific. I hated it just as much as I had before I was changing, though this time the cool mountain air actually seemed to fuel the fire inside even more. I knew Edward was being careful with me; I knew he was trying to be fast at the same time. It was awful, and I was beyond relieved when we made it to the cabin and out of the fresh air. The cabin still smelled like Edward and I, and it felt like home. I couldn’t see myself being anywhere else at the moment, while I continued to smolder from the inside out. 

  


My existence was filled with fire raging inside and the small, cool touches of Edward. Even Charlie’s hand hadn’t helped me. But then, without any warning, I began to feel things. I could sense who was in the room, rather than just hearing them. I knew it was just Charlie and Edward with me, and when I realized he could hear me that was a huge relief. But as soon as I realized that meant he could feel my pain, I was filled with guilt. I never wanted him to suffer like that. That was part of why I kept my mouth sealed shut as best as I could; I hadn’t wanted to cause him more pain. 

  


I spoke to him in my head, telling him that and expressing my sorrow. He quickly squashed it, just telling me that he loved me. My body filled with joy at hearing him say that. No matter how much I had said I wanted to become like him, there had always been a part of me that worried he wouldn’t want me in the same way. His words had calmed that fear. 

  


Then he spoke of his love, the immense joy at our new connection and fear that it wouldn’t last. His feelings were exactly how I felt, too. While as a human I was sort of glad he couldn’t hear my thoughts, right now was wonderful. It gave me the chance to really talk to him without anyone else overhearing. I told him over and over just how much I loved him. 

  


But the shock of the day was when he told me that he hadn’t spoken out loud. I almost pried my eyes open to look at him in shock. I heard his thoughts, as he heard everyone else’s. Was that my gift? That I was a mind reader as he was? That seemed strange; I hadn’t heard of any other vampires with the exact same gift before. Was it because he and I were mates? What was the full extent of my gift? 

  


When Edward suggested Eleazer come in, I was all for it. I knew we would get answers about my gift, and I really needed a distraction. I was still trying to focus on anything other than the burning, and I desperately wanted something to talk about or discuss. 

  


While we waited, Edward kept his head to mine telling me over and over how much he loved me. I tried to counter each one, telling him that he couldn’t possibly be more in love than I was. He never responded to the jokes though, and at first that made me worried. Maybe we were losing the connection already? Was I getting muted? I asked him, but he didn’t answer directly. 

  


“Don’t be worried, love. Eleazer is great. His gift is to identify gifts in others. I know he will be able to help us.” 

  


I tried to shake my head. That's not what I was worried about. But, still, he didn’t answer my fear directly. “It’s ok, Bella, please. Don't worry, Eleazer will be here soon.” 

  


I was starting to feel desperate by the time Eleazer came in. I hadn’t officially met him, though I had been introduced from a distance when the Denali clan first arrived. I was focused on Charlie, and hadn’t really paid anyone else too much attention. I sensed him before he entered the room, and I listened in fascination as the three of them spoke, still unwilling to open my mouth and join the conversation. 

  


“It’s an interesting gift your mate has, Edward. One I've never seen before in my life,” Eleazer was saying. “You can hear her? Her thoughts?” 

  


“Sort of. I can feel her emotions when we are touching. I can’t hear words the way I can with everyone else, but I can get the gist of what she is thinking based on the emotion behind it.” 

  


That explained a lot. I immediately relaxed – well, as much as I could, anyway. 

  


“Whatever I just said calmed her down; she was agitated over something earlier, but she’s fine now.” Edward was quiet for a moment. “I didn’t think about that, actually. Hey, Jasper, do you mind giving us some space here? Just for a few minutes?” 

  


I hadn’t known that Jasper was close; I knew he wasn’t in the room with us, so he must have been just outside the wall to the cabin. As he got farther away, I felt different. I knew he was gone soon, because I felt his presence leave. Now I could only sense three vampires close to me. Unconsciously, I sought Edward out again, trying to find his mind the way we had before. 

  


I told him I loved him, and I wanted him to ask Eleazer what my actual gift was. Edward was silent for a moment. “I heard her voice. It was actual words this time,” he said in a quiet voice. “Bella, I love you too! Eleazer, Bella wants to know what her actual gift is.” 

  


“Amazing. I’ve never seen a newborn, or someone in transition even, be this in control of their gift. Edward, she is going to be strong as a vampire. I can tell.” He shuffled his feet, walking close to the bed. “Bella, you have a similar gift to your father, but you shield works differently. Instead of being able to reflect someone’s power back upon themselves, you are absorbing the power close to you and using it. You can still block those around you, but being able to use their gift...well, I've never seen anything like it.” 

  


I was still having trouble using full sentences, the burning was getting more intense. But I wanted to discuss this at length. I wanted Edward to ask why he could only now hear my thoughts, rather than just the emotions. But he didn’t need to ask. 

  


“Jasper was trying to use his gift to calm her down. When he did that, I could feel her emotions. We were connected when I put my head on hers, and I was sensing what she was feeling because of Jasper.” His voice was excitement and awe in one. “Eleazer, is it possible she took Jasper’s empathic power and transferred it to me?” 

  


“I don’t think that’s exactly how it works, no. You felt her emotions because her body was subconsciously absorbing Jasper’s gift first, and yours second. I’m guessing it's all instinct. She felt his strongly and focused on that, and yours was secondary. Now that Jasper is out of the area, she focused on yours.” 

  


“I wonder,” Charlie said, as he sat back down next to me on the bed. “Would she be able to use my gift?” 

  


“I’m not sure. Maybe in a few months when she’s calmed down, we can test that out. Although, her father had super control and never really acted like a newborn. She may be the same way.” Eleazer laughed for a moment. “Your daughter has an incredible gift, Charlie. I’m looking forward to testing it out to see how it all works.” 

  


Eleazer left shortly after that, but I continued to burn. I wanted to focus on Edward, tell him I was ok – or at least that I would be ok – but eventually the fire won. I held myself rigidly expecting to actually go up in flames as it fully consumed me. I could sort of hear Edward in the background of all the pain I was in. He was trying to calm me down; trying to tell me he loved me. I couldn’t reply though. The pain had won. 

  


I was like that for almost two days. I could hear the clock in the living room ticking and I tried to focus on that to get any idea of how much time was passing. It felt like an eternity. But eventually I felt small portions of my body starting to cool. The sensation started in my toes, then my feet and ankles. Eventually, I felt the cold lapse of fire spreading into my chest. I listened as my heart stuttered, and finally, beat just once more and stopped. The chilling affect finished spreading through my chest and finally doused the fire in my head and arms. 

  


For a moment I was overwhelmed with sensation. The smell in the air, the feel of the bedding underneath me, the sounds of...well, everything! I could hear everything! I heard people talking outside, the wind in the trees and against the cabin, the quiet drip of the sink in the bathroom...it was intense. 

  


Slowly, I opened my eyes. 

  


Edward 

  


Two days of pure torture, that’s what it was. Watching the love of my life be in that much pain – and being able to feel it through her – was worse than anything I had ever been through before. I'd watched, pained, while most of my family had turned. But when it was my mate in pain, that was a whole other level of uncomfortable. 

  


When I heard the tell-tale sign that her heart was starting to stutter, I motioned for Charlie to back up. I knew she would be leery of us, and I didn’t want to scare her. Though, with her gift and how it had worked, I also knew that she was more of sound mind than expected. Through the whole ordeal we talked to each other silently. We expressed our love to each other, discussed the fight with the Volturi, and with Demetri...everything. I felt almost confident that she would be fine, but I still felt it wise to be cautious. 

  


Charlie and I were leaning against the far wall when she opened her eyes. I felt immediate sadness at the loss of her beautiful chocolate brown eyes, as the bright red ones stared directly into mine. She smirked, jumped off the bed, and landed directly in front of me. 

  


Edward. She thought, as she threw her arms around me. I felt like I was being crushed, her being so much stronger than me. She backed off and apologized to me without saying a word. She glanced at Charlie, moving to put her arms around him next. She was more careful now that she remembered she was strong than both of us at that moment. 

  


“You look good, Bells,” Charlie said, putting his arms around her too. “Though the eyes will be something to get used to.” 

  


She backed off and looked at him, a smile on her face. “Yours, too, Dad.” Her voice sounded like a magical bell, making me hard immediately. She glanced at me, knowing exactly what was going on. “Where are the others? I want to see everyone!” 

  


“Soon, Bella. First, let’s get your thirst under control.” I hadn’t heard her even mention being thirsty, but I remembered all too well the first burn in the throat after being turned. As soon as I mentioned it, though, her hand flew to her throat and I saw her visibly swallow. 

  


“Um, yeah, ow.” 

  


I laughed, tugging on her hand toward the doorway. “Come, love, let’s go.” 

  


We ran out the cabin, Charlie watching us go. I led her through the woods in the opposite direction of the meadow. I knew that many of our friends were still here; only the ones who had decided to try the vegetarian lifestyle. I didn’t want her to become distracted from the hunt. She needed to feed before seeing everyone. 

  


As we ran through the forest, I marveled at her strength again. She didn’t seem like a newborn. She wasn’t scared or on heightened alert as most of us were. In fact, as we ran, I could tell she was smiling. 

  


“It’s exhilarating, isn’t it?” I asked, keeping an easy pace next to her. 

  


She laughed, glancing at me. “I can see why you like running so much.” 

  


We hunted fairly close to the cabin, not wanting to get too far away. Watching her take down two deer gave me mixed emotions. They weren’t predators, but the buck could have posed a danger to the human Bella. The vampire Bella, however, took him down easily, draining him. I watched in fascination as she took the second one down. She was incredible. The agility and strength she had, the natural instinct to hunt...she was amazing. 

  


When she had drained a third deer, she wiped her mouth and started wandering back toward me. I was leaning against a tree in the small clearing where I led her; her eyes were intently on mine. She walked up to me, pushed me against the tree and latched her mouth to mine. The push had been more forceful than I was used to, but it still caused me to get hard again. 

  


Groaning, I grabbed her, lifted her up, turned and pushed her back into the tree. It made a small creaking sound as I hit it, but Bella didn’t seem to notice. Her mouth was still fused to mine, hands tugging on my hair. As she bit down on my lip, I realized that I didn’t need to hold myself back anymore. I bucked into her, showing her how aroused I was, and she moaned in my mouth. Before I could think about how to get her clothes off, I realized that she was ripping my shirt, bringing her hands down to my pants to do the same thing. 

  


“Hold on, love, let me get them off without ripping them. I don’t want to walk back to the cabin naked, do you?” I smirked at her, setting her down carefully. She brought her hands up to her own shirt, successfully ripping off the first part of the shirt and the hemline. “Let me, Bella. My hands are more practiced.” 

  


She smirked at me. “Or you just like taking my clothes off.” 

  


I pulled her shirt off, remembering that I had taken her bra off earlier. I dipped my head down to her neck, kissing softly. “And why would you think that?” I continued to kiss up her neck and behind her ear, causing the most sensual moan to come out of her mouth. The sound went straight to my dick, making it strain against my jeans. I made quick work of the rest of my clothes, knowing that my shirt was a total lost cause. 

  


I picked Bella up again, and she wound her legs around me. I pushed her against the tree, straining to stay upright as I pushed myself into her hard. We both gasped at the feel, and I continued to move inside her. Everything was coming out as I moved swiftly inside her: my fear at losing her, the terror at not knowing if I would get to her fast enough, the joy at seeing her still alive, the feeling of overwhelming love when our minds connected. 

  


I pushed into her again and again, eager to feel the connection. I pressed my forehead to hers and was met with an onslaught of emotion pouring through our connection. My eyes met hers as I listened to her thoughts. She was consumed with love for me, and was telling me over and over how much she loved me. 

  


This is damn convenient, love. We can have conversations without anyone overhearing now. I thought at her, smirking, continuing to move inside her. 

  


This is the best gift ever, Edward. I love you so much. 

  


As I love you. 

  


She fell apart in my arms, and I followed shortly after. I didn’t want to disconnect from her – both in body and in my mind. But I knew that others wanted to greet her as well. Slowly, I let her down and we looked at the almost standing tree behind us. We both chuckled as we set about getting our clothes back on. 

  


I took her hand to start leading her back to the cabin, once we had our clothes back on. My shirt was forgotten on the ground as we wound around the trees, walking back at a slower pace. I basked in the glow of being able to be with her the way I had desperately wanted to in the beginning. Knowing that I couldn’t hurt her now was intoxicating. 

  


“You really were holding back before,” she said quietly, squeezing my hand. 

  


“Necessity, love. I didn’t want to hurt you.” 

  


“I know.” She bit her lip, and I started to get hard again immediately. “It sucks that I can’t hear your thoughts unless our heads are pressed together. Can't really walk around like that all day.” 

  


“All gifts require work. When I woke, I couldn’t keep any thoughts out of my head. I heard everything around me. After working with it, I can lower the voices down to a low hum. This helps me to focus on one person when needed.” I thought for a moment. “Plus, you were channeling Jasper when we were in the cabin, and he wasn’t close enough to touch you.” 

  


She whirled to face me. “You are right! I bet we can do this!” She closed her eyes in concentration. I watched her in fascination, and there was suddenly an onslaught with her thoughts. 

  


Edward, can you hear me? 

  


Yes, love, I can. I leaned in and kissed her softly. I love you so much, Bella. You are truly amazing. She leaned in this time and kissed me, hard. Love, we need to get to the meadow. There are a lot of people waiting to see you. 

  


She nodded and I lost her thoughts. It would probably take some time for her to perfect that, but it was wonderful. More than I had ever hoped for. When she was a human, and I had thought about the possibility of her becoming a vampire, I had often thought that maybe I would be able to hear her once she turned. But this was so much better than that. 

  


I led her past the cabin and into the meadow. I could see my siblings, Mother, Carlisle, the Denali’s and Benjamin and Tia all standing in the middle looking at us. Alice was practically jumping up and down in anticipation. 

  


She looks so beautiful, Edward! I heard Alice say. I glared at her – she's always been beautiful. 

  


Mother rushed up to Bella first, grasping onto her and holding tight. I saw Bella smile before her eyes went blank, staring into nothing. 

  


“Oh my gosh...” she said, eyes wide. “There are so many choices. So many paths to take that end in happiness. There's one that’s sad, though, I can’t quite see what the choice is...” 

  


Mother pulled back, looking at Bella with a strange look. I stepped forward grabbing Mother and pulling her away from Bella. “Bella’s gift is quite powerful. We need to give her a little space right now until we can help her control it better.” 

  


Carlisle walked forward standing next to Mother. “What is her gift?” 

  


I glanced at Eleazer; I saw that he hadn’t said anything yet, waiting for us to explain. So, I told them everything: how I could feel her emotions when Jasper was close, how I can talk to her, and she with me, when we were close; how she had seen Mother’s gift. 

  


Alice was just about hopping up at down at that point, though she didn’t come any closer. “Bella is powerful, just as I thought she would be.” 

  


Eleazer smiled and nodded. “And to be able to accomplish this while changing? That's just amazing. I can’t wait to do some testing on this to see what she is truly capable of.” 

  


Bella grinned. “Well, I had to be different, right? I wondered if I could have a gift similar to Dad's, but I guess I sort of ended up with everyone’s gift, huh?” 

  


We all chuckled, and I started to introduce her to the vampires she hadn’t met yet. Those with powers stayed farther away, just to be safe, but those without came up to hug her and welcome her to the family. Bella’s smile never faltered; she greeted everyone. Rose and Emmett took the longest in hugging her, and she was smiling huge at being able to hug them back without any concerns of them smelling her blood. The thought made me smile, also. 

  


“How do you feel, Bella?” Eleazer asked, taking a step forward. “Do you need to hunt? Or do you want to investigate your gift a little more?” 

  


“No, I'm good. I feel full, I think. Though the burn in my throat hasn’t gone away yet.” 

  


“That’s normal. You are a newborn, so your thirst is heightened.” Eleazer walked a little closer to Bella. “But the burn won’t ever go away. Because we stick to animals it’s never quite as satisfying as a human’s blood would be. We will help you as you work through that.” 

  


Mother smiled at Bella. “You get used to it, and over the years you will gain control over that part of you. Eleazer’s right. We will all help you.” 

  


“Now, to your gift,” Eleazer said, motioning to Charlie. “It is similar to your fathers, but it works differently. Bella is a shield, but a shield that has the power to absorb another’s gift into herself. We saw that when she was channeling Jasper’s gift. But,” he said, taking another step closer to Bella. “I think the key difference is what she can do with that channeling.” 

  


“What do you mean?” Bella asked, looking up at him. “What is it that you think I can do?” 

  


Eleazer’s eyes twinkled. “I think you can channel a gift to someone else. You can use others when they are close to you, but I have a feeling that you can take someone else’s gift and transfer it to someone else.” 

  


Bella’s eyes were wide. I had heard his thoughts earlier as he was thinking through this, so I wasn’t surprised. I knew that Eleazer’s gift was to sense the powers in others, and initially I was surprised that’s what he saw in Bella, but I trusted his judgement. I was desperate to see if his thoughts were true, but I wasn’t sure how to truly test it. 

  


Eleazer, apparently, had a thought. As soon as I saw it, I grinned. “Esme, Jasper, come here please. I want to test my theory.” 

  


They both walked up to Bella, but didn’t stand too close yet. They looked to Eleazer for instruction. 

  


“Bella, take both of their hands please.” She did as he asked her to do. I could sense through Jasper that he was surprised, feeling from Bella that she could sense emotions around her. “Now, Bella, I want you to picture Jaspers gift as it enters your mind. Take the bubble around you and expand it so that Jasper and Esme are both within it.” 

  


Bella closed her eyes in concentration. I listened to Esme’s thoughts as they went from doubtful to shock. Emotions began to flood into her and she lost it for a moment, breaking contact with Bella by collapsing to the ground. Though the loss of contact didn’t diminish what she was feeling. 

  


“Jasper,” Esme gasped, staring up at him in wonder. “How do you handle this every day?” 

  


Jasper smiled at her. “Practice. I have to mute certain people or I'd go mad.” He glanced at me and winked. I rolled my eyes back at him, causing him to laugh. “It gets easier as you learn to use it.” 

  


Emmett was looking around at all of them. “Did it work then? Esme can sense emotions like Jasper can?” 

  


Charlie walked up to Esme, helping her up off the ground. I watched in amazement as Esme still hadn’t lost the emotion sensing from Jasper, and she stared into Charlie’s eyes. I watched her feel his love for her, the overpowering emotion of looking into the eyes of your mate. My heart swelled in happiness for my favorite sister, and I knew just how happy she was in this moment. 

  


“Yes,” Esme said in a hushed voice. “I can feel everything.” 

  


Bella faltered then, opening her eyes and losing connection with Esme. Jasper was still grasping her hand, and I watched him in fascination. I couldn’t hear Bella’s thoughts, but I desperately wanted to in that moment. I took a step closer to her, grabbing her hand that Esme had dropped. I listened as Bella was processing the emotions in the meadow, assessing each person; her eyes landed on Tia. 

  


“You don’t really want to be here,” she said, her voice calm and quiet, staring right at Tia. Tia’s eyes grew wide and she hovered behind Benjamin a little more. “But you will stay with Benjamin no matter what.” 

  


Benjamin’s eyes shot to Tia, turning slightly. “Do you not want to try this lifestyle?” he asked his mate, as her eyes turned up toward him. 

  


“It’s not that I don’t want to, I just don’t know how to do it. We've never feasted on anything other than human.” 

  


“She’s nervous that she won’t be able to do this without faltering,” Bella said in a confident voice. I searched her thoughts again. She was using both my and Jasper’s powers at the same time. She was hearing Tia’s thoughts and sensing her emotions at the same time. Bella let go of both of our hands, taking a step away. “I’m sorry, but that is really overwhelming. I can’t handle two at once.” 

  


“But you did, love,” I said, winding my arms around her. “You were able to use both of our gifts!” 

  


“Amazing,” Carlisle said, not moving from his spot beside my Mother. “I’ve never heard of anything like this before.” 

  


Bella smiled at him, hugging me tighter. I love being with the family, but you are right. Hearing everyone’s thoughts is really too much. I need some quiet for a while. 

  


“Bella and I are going to hunt for a little while. She needs a break from the thoughts. We will be back, though, ok? I just need to get her away from everyone’s thoughts right now.” 

  


“Bella, can you hear everyone right now?” Rose asked, her eyes full of concern. 

  


Bella nodded, her eyes down. “I’m sorry, Rose. I don’t want to cause you any problems.” 

  


I’d heard Rose think earlier that she was a little jealous of Bella and her power, thinking that she was gipped in that she hadn’t gotten any powers herself. I was used to tuning people out around me, but Bella wasn’t. Rose looked sadly at Bella. However, as soon as the words were out of Bella’s mouth, Rose smiled and changed her thoughts. She loved Bella like a sister, and was happy for her. And she apologized for her rash thoughts immediately. 

  


The rest of the family took a few steps back from Bella, who was definitely feeling overwhelmed. I tugged on her hand to get her out of the meadow, and to get space from the rest of the family. We went on another hunt then, just speaking to each other quietly in our minds. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot more info on her gift. Thoughts? 
> 
> So, I wanted to explain. In the book, when Bella was human, she used to have dreams that were sort of predictions of events. She had a better than normal grasp on situations. My thought was it was Alice’s gift sort of aiding her in these dreams. That's why I wanted to add in that her actual gift was to absorb those around her, rather than just a shield as she was in the book. The thought was that she was more open with Alice about things than Edward, so she would feel less likely to block Alice as she had Edward. At least, that’s how it felt in my mind. 
> 
> Curious at your thoughts on this turn. Let me know! 
> 
> Also, only one more chapter and the epilogue left. I think that this story has been just so much fun, I’m sad to see it end. I’m glad that you all have enjoyed it, though! 
> 
> Don’t forget about Consuming Love; it’s winding down also. I hope you enjoy that story as well. 
> 
> Thanks again to my sister and beta zombified419 for all of your help!


	25. Forever and Ever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As sad as this is to say, this is the final chapter. I have really enjoyed writing this little story. I’ve been hedging on the epilogue for a couple weeks. So, here’s what we are going to do. After you read the chapter, hit me at the bottom notes. Let’s play a game!

Chapter 25: Forever and Ever 

  


Bella 

  


The longer I was a vampire, the more I realized that I was meant to be in this life. My new family around me was amazing; they kept me grounded in reality and helped me to enjoy my new life. But it really was easy for me regardless. The easiest thing I'd ever done in my entire life so far was to be a vampire. I was no longer clumsy, I didn’t have to be cautious about skinned knees, or broken bones, or anything like that. I felt like I was thriving. 

  


Hunting was much different than I had pictures when Edward would talk about it. I hardly ever wanted to go out with anyone other than him because inevitably I would attack him once I was sated with blood. Every time I turned on my natural hunting instinct, I wanted him. Craved him. And I was insatiable. The good news for me was that he was just as happy to have me to himself, and never questioned when I wanted us to hunt alone. 

  


The most intense moment was after I had finally tasted a carnivore. Edward had explained that they tasted better because they were closest to humans, and I couldn’t agree more. About the tasting better part, anyway. We had been lucky to not be anywhere close to humans so far, and I was content to stay that way. 

  


I took down a mountain lion about a month after I turned. It was just Edward and I hunting, as usual, and he watched me with a smirk on his face. I leapt into the air, catching him mid-jump, taking him down and draining him before he could even blink. As soon as he was empty, I turned to face Edward, my chest moving in heavy breathing that I didn’t need any longer. 

  


“I thought I was getting used to you hunting,” Edward said, pushing away from the tree he had been leaning against. “But seeing you with a predator was terrifying.” 

  


I continued to breath heavily, staring at him, licking my lips. Through the last month I had been successful in expanding my shield from around myself, and including him into the bubble as Eleazer put it. Because I was too high on blood and the intoxication of Edward, I couldn’t speak, so I expanded the bubble and brought him into my thoughts. 

  


His smirk dropped from his face and he rushed across the clearing to get closer to me, grabbing me roughly and pressing his lips to mine. His mind entangled with mine, sending us both into a frenzy. I pushed him down on the ground, ripping and tearing his clothes off just to get closer to him. He had done the same for me, and soon I found myself grinding into him, almost tearing at the skin on his chest. 

  


Before he could register the thought in my head, I was pushing myself down on top of him, still pulling at his chest. I threw my head back just enjoying the feel of him inside me. His arms rose my up body, covering my breasts briefly before making their way up to my face. He tugged me down and kissed me roughly, as I continued to move on top of him. 

  


Bella, love, dammit...I heard him in my mind. I was overwhelming him with sensation. I could hear his love for me through our connection, and it spurred me on more. I rode him harder, slamming my body down on his. He growled as he threw his own head back as the sensations got more intense. 

  


He flipped us after that, wanting to get a different angle. He slammed into me, causing my teeth to chatter a little. Fuck, Edward, so good. Harder, please. 

  


Your wish, my love. And he slammed into me even harder. We stayed like that for some time, and it was amazing. His lips captured my ear lobe, as I bit down on his shoulder. His pace stuttered as my teeth made contact with his skin, and then he moved even faster inside me. My head hit the ground, while I pushed my chest into him. He shifted so that both of my legs were thrown over his shoulder, impossibly hitting me even deeper. 

  


As we both neared completion, he slowed down and changed the tone of the air around us. His thoughts were more focused on how much he loved me, and how he couldn't imagine living without me. If I could have cried, I knew I would have. I sent back thoughts of our time together leading up to me being changed. How much it had meant to me to have someone like Edward love me. 

  


It was never a choice, love. 

  


For me either, Edward. 

  


When we finally shattered in each other's arms, I was overwhelmed with love for him. Every time we were together, I felt our connection grow, but this time had been even more intense. I wondered if it had to do with hunting specifically, or because I had finally taken large game. 

  


I think it’s normal for this kind of thing to happen. Edward smirked at me, kissing me softly. Everyone else seems to think the carnivores bring this reaction out of us. 

  


Well, then we need to find large game more often. I tweaked his nose and he laughed, sitting up and disconnecting our bodies. We stared at the shredded clothing around us, wondering what we were going to do. My mind was still connected to him, and I heard someone else’s thoughts at the edge of my range. 

  


I’m leaving clothes over here next to the tree that is now dead because of you two, Alice’s voice rang out clearly in my head. Really, acting like a couple of love sick teenagers. Next time at least bring a change of clothes with you. 

  


“We are love sick teenagers, Alice,” Edward called out to her as we both started laughing. “But thank you. We appreciate it.” 

  


“Now, get out of here so we can get dressed!” I called out, standing up next to Edward. He entwined our hands and we walked a slow pace to where Alice had left us clothing. 

  


After we were dressed, we ran together back to the cabin where the rest of the family was waiting. We had been hearing news of Volterra’s downfall to the Romanians, and were waiting to hear what was going to happen to the vampire world as we knew it. Carlisle had told us that Aro had defeated the Romanians years before he was born, so he really didn’t know for sure what kind of leaders they would be. Aro had twisted stories so much over the years, no one tended to believe any recounts he had. 

  


The Denali’s had opted to go back home. They were all still mourning Irena’s death; though it had made them happy, to some degree, that at least she had died with Laurant. They had seemed to be mated, and at least they were together wherever vampires went after this life. Regardless, it was hard on Kate and Tonya, having lost their mother in a similar way. They opted to head back to Alaska to continue to mourn. 

  


Unsurprisingly, Garrett had decided to accompany them. He and Kate were growing closer, and I was sure that they were mated as well. Even if they weren’t, they both seemed happy together. Since he was willing to try our diet, where best to learn than at the side of the woman he clearly loved? While I was sad to see them go, I understood they needed time to grieve. 

  


Since the threat of Charlie hurting me while I was human was gone, he and Esme had stayed with us and the rest of our family. It was great to see him happy, and looking younger than he had the whole time I knew him. They worked off each other well. Esme’s sweet and quiet demeanor, and Dad’s gruff personality complimented each other so much better than I ever could have thought. Some days I would see them off to the side of the meadow just leaning their heads together, speaking quietly. I was grateful for them both, finding happiness finally. 

  


When Dad and Edward disappeared one day, claiming to be going hunting, I knew better. I was inside Edward’s head so much that he really couldn’t hide anything from me. Esme had a sense of what they were up to also, so she and I hovered around each other smirking now and then. I had taken to her quite easily, and would be thrilled to call her my step mother. 

  


Liz and Carlisle were pretty easy to get along with, too. Liz I loved for many reasons, mostly because she was Edward’s true mother, but her gentle and loving nature made me crave being around her. She had a way of calming those around her with simple gestures and advice. Her and Alice together were hilarious, almost speaking in a different language. This drove Emmett crazy most of the time, but he was so good natured in general that he got over it fairly quickly. 

  


Rose and Alice were the sisters I always wanted. The dynamic between them was interesting, as they really were not similar at all. Rose was kind yet had a low-key lifestyle. She was just as content living under the hood of a vehicle making repairs as she was doing her nails or hair. Alice on the other hand lived for shopping and dressing each of us. Edward told me once to just give in and let her dress me, though I really wasn’t happy about it, I did let her. 

  


Esme and I were sitting in the cabin chatting when Charlie and Edward got back from their ‘hunting’ trip. We smirked at each other, her winding her way outside with Charlie while Edward sat down next to me. I looked at him expectedly, wondering if he was finally going to ask me. 

  


Edward 

  


There were times that I missed Bella being human. I had missed the lullaby of her heart beat most of all; but the constant craving for her blood was gone and that made my life a lot easier. While I never wanted her to live with this life, I understood now that she was always meant to be a vampire. She came into this life with such ease she had even Jasper wondering about her strength. 

  


He and I would often discuss her ease, and we believed that it was because she had been properly prepared. Perhaps her shield had something to do with it, but I had never known anyone to be turned who had wanted it so much ahead of time. We would discuss this with Carlisle now and then, and he tended to agree with us. Emmett was more pragmatic in that he didn’t really care. He was just happy to not have to smell human blood any longer. 

  


I asked Charlie to go hunting with me; I knew we had much to discuss. Over the last month or so since Bella turned, I had really gotten to know him. I was thrilled that he and Esme were mates, because it was so wonderful to see her so happy. No longer were we on the outside of the other couples around us. I loved her as a sister and that’s all I ever wanted for her: happiness. 

  


“Charlie?” I said, pausing several miles from the cabin. I knew that we were out of range so no one could listen in on the conversation. 

  


He stopped running and stood next to me, eyes on mine with a small smirk. “Yes, Edward?” 

  


“I have a couple things I wanted to say to you, now that we are alone.” He didn’t comment, so I continued. “First, I want to thank you for how happy you have made Esme. She and I were alone for so long, always wondering if we would ever find someone to spend our existence with. I'm glad she found you.” 

  


He smiled widely at me. “When Renee left so many years ago, I assumed that I would be alone forever. Ever the bachelor, you know? I assumed that was my one shot, and I lost it. Like if I had been willing to move to a bigger city, or change something about myself then I could have been happy. While I did change something drastically in my life after meeting Esme, it wasn’t because I needed to in order to keep her. She just accepted me as I was.” He put his hand on my shoulder. “I just want her to be happy, Edward.” 

  


I nodded at him. “And she is. Trust me, I’ve known her almost my entire life and I've never seen her this happy.” 

  


“Well, now, that’s good to hear.” Charlie studied me for a moment. “What else?” 

  


I shuffled my feet, suddenly unnecessarily nervous. “I want to ask Bella to marry me, Charlie. I want to know if you will give us your blessing.” 

  


He stared at me for a moment before laughing. “Don’t tell Bella you asked me; she would probably be offended. She has her own mind, Edward, and if she wants you, I won’t stop it. And I know she does, son.” 

  


For some reason, hearing him call me that didn’t bother me as it always had with Carlisle. Though that relationship was better than it ever had been, I still regressed now and then. “I come from a different age, Charlie. I was appropriate in my time to ask permission of the woman’s father before asking her.” 

  


“I know Edward. What is it that Esme always says? Welcome to the 21st century?” He laughed again. “Of course, I give you my blessing; but the rest is up to Bella.” 

  


He and I continued running then, heading in toward town. We had discussed going into a small jewelry shop on the outskirts of a town in Quebec, but ultimately, we opted to stay in Alberta. Charlie’s French Canadian wasn’t so good. He was surprisingly calm around the humans in the store, but I kept my eye on him anyway. I noticed that he was looking at rings as I was. 

  


“Should you be asking me for my blessing?” I teased him, as he selected a beautiful ring in the case next to the one I was eyeing. 

  


He looked at me. “Should I?” 

  


I threw my head back and laughed. “No, absolutely not. It's not my place. But I would have given it had you asked.” 

  


Once our purchases were made, we hid them safely in our pockets and began the run back. We did hunt while we were out, but it didn’t take long. Both of us wanted to get back to our mates. By the time we got back to the cabin, I could hear Esme and Bella inside while the others were mysteriously gone. Benjamin and Tia were all I could see, and they were on the farthest edge of the meadow speaking quietly to each other. Charlie and I raised a hand in greeting, but continued to the cabin. 

  


Charlie led a smirking Esme outside as I went to sit next to Bella. I heard from Esme’s thoughts she knew exactly what was going on, but until Bella pulled me in, I couldn’t hear hers. As I sat next to her, I expected to hear her mind, but she kept silent from me. 

  


“Did you have a good hunting trip, Edward?” she asked, her voice full of humor. Oh yeah, she knew what I was up to. 

  


“It was pleasant, thank you,” I said, swallowing thickly. I pulled the box out of my pocket, sliding off the couch and kneeling on the floor. Her eyes didn’t betray anything, she just stared at me stoically. “Bella, having you with me in this life was more than I ever thought possible. You are amazing and I cannot spend another day of my life without you in it. Will you marry me?” 

  


She finally opened up her mind, and I could almost see her dancing inside her head. Took you long enough to ask me. 

  


I was going to, back when you were still human; Alice told me not to. I smirked at her, as she let me slip the ring on her finger. It was subtle, not wanting too much rock showing. It was a simple silver band with one single diamond in the middle. 

  


Never bet against Alice; I’m not sure how I would have taken it back then. She said, leaning forward and kissing me. Of course I’ll marry you, Edward. I love it; thank you for making it a simple ring. That's all I ever wanted. 

  


A few hours later, the family started filtering back in toward the cabin. Alice and Mother must have made them stay away for some time. They were all excited that Charlie and Esme were getting married, as well as Bella and I. 

  


As a family, we sat in the meadow the remainder of the night just talking and making plans. Mother and Alice stated we should try and remain where we were for only a short time more. It was getting further into fall, which meant winter. The rangers would be making their rounds through the area soon enough to make sure there were no concerns heading into the snowy time of year. 

  


The only thing Bella really struggled with in this new life was handling the ‘borrowed’ powers from others. Kate’s had been easy, before she had left to go back to Alaska, but Benjamin’s had scared most of us. She didn’t know how to control it, and almost knocked out half of the forest with a tornado before Benjamin was able to calm it. He started to teach her, little by little, how to control rather than go unhinged. 

  


When Alice got too close to Bella, though, the terror had been mine alone. Bella was connected with my mind when Alice’s power got shoved in, and I experienced what she did. It was different from how I saw it in Alice’s head because I wasn’t just watching; I was experiencing it with her. Bella’s eyes had glazed over being pulled into a vision of the Romanian’s coming to visit. I felt as if I was experiencing it, not watching it. I was living the vision and for a moment I actually thought the Romanian’s were in the meadow with us. Bella snapped out of it before I did; Mother was calm explaining she would be able to tell if their choices would lead down a bad path once they got there; Alice said she’d been watching it for weeks and nothing violent ever came out of it. 

  


I wasn’t convinced, and spent a long time just hovering around Bella. I knew she was strong enough to take care of herself, but that didn't mean I was unfazed by the possibility of unknown vampires coming into the area. We all adopted a wait and see approach, but I worried about it constantly. 

  


Charlie had it the hardest, though. He had called the Forks PD and turned in his resignation. He told them that after he had healed enough, he hoped to come back, but for now it didn't make sense to hold his job. I knew how devastated he was, having loved his job so much. I also knew that he hoped to go back one day, but considering his indestructible nature, that may have been too hard. He wanted to stay with Esme no matter what, which was all I wanted for them both. 

  


Mother wouldn’t tell him, but I could tell that she saw a strand of a choice later that led him back to law enforcement. She was confident that he would be able to return, he just needed to gain a few years more of control around humans. 

  


The family decided to move, as the cabin really wasn’t designed for so many of us. They opted to go to the house we owned in Maine, just for a change of scenery. Bella and I decided to remain at the cabin, working on her gift and in desperate need of alone time. She was sad to see them all go, but she did need the quiet. Choosing to stay connected with me all the time meant she was constantly bombarded with everyone’s thoughts. I knew from experience how overwhelming that was. She needed quiet for a time, and I needed to train her on how to mute everyone. 

  


After we had said our goodbyes, and they had all left, we ended up back in the bedroom of the cabin enjoying each other. My mate was an amazing woman; seeing the beauty in everything. She made me realize that the anger and resentment I had held for being thrust into this life was really unnecessary. There was beauty in who we were, and how we chose to live. 

  


The Romanians came to visit, and it was anti-climactic. They wanted to express their thanks to us that we had eliminated the Volturi threat. They were going to make their way to Italy after seeing us; the wives of Aro and Caius had requested their assistance to build a new world for vampires. We were all eager to see what they came up with. We knew that they weren’t as afraid of humans as Aro had been, so we were hoping for some leniency in our most sacred law. Carlisle was convinced that they would do good, and Mother was thinking about going to Italy later to see for themselves. 

  


Renee had been a wildcard. Renee had been up in Maine when we found her. Bella and I had finally been able to track her down, using Charlie’s police buddies and some visions Alice had. Their reunion was bittersweet, considering Bella had to be so careful around her. She tried to play it off that she just didn’t want to hug her mother, but Renee wasn’t having that. I held my breath – Bella did as well – watching the two hug briefly. We stayed with her and Phil for a couple days, and I was amazed at how well she had done. I was watching her thoughts carefully, and she never once even thought about hurting her mother. 

  


We took the long way back to the cabin, traveling far to the north. There was so much country out there that she hadn’t seen, so we decided to travel around for a while together. Our hunger for each other never really faded. And we ruined a lot of clothing in the process. Thank goodness for Alice packing us extra clothes. 

  


I sort of existed outside of my body these days. Things were so beautiful and amazing – just like my Mother had said all those months ago. Bella as a vampire was exquisite. She was even more beautiful than I ever thought possible. 

  


With her by my side, I knew I would only become more grateful that we had forever and ever. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! What a wild ride this story has been for me! I have really enjoyed it; and I hope all of you have as well. 
> 
> Now, on to the game. The epilogue will be written in Elizabeth’s POV (which was always the plan). But what I want from you guys is: What do you want to hear about from her? Give me some ideas of what you want, what I didn’t go into enough detail about, or what did she think about certain situations. If you give me the suggestions and I take them, I’ll shout each of you out in the author’s notes! I want this to be YOUR story. What is it that you want to hear from Elizabeth? 
> 
> I will update with the epilogue as soon as possible, but give me your reviews and feedback and ideas first. Then, I’ll be on my way. My goal is to post it before the end of the year. Help me out faster, and the faster you’ll get it! 
> 
> Thank you all for reading and commenting on this story of mine. I love each and everyone of you, and appreciate you more than I can say! 
> 
> Consuming Love, my other story, is winding down also. Very soon it will be over (also before the end of the year). Please head over and give that a read, too. 
> 
> And finally, thanks to my two amazing betas for helping me through this journey. To my sister for fact checking every damn name and event in the Twilight wiki, and my beta zombified419 for keeping me sane and motivated to finish. You both mean the world to me for your help!


	26. Elizabeth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again friends! I hope that this finds you still stuffed from a holiday meal, or tired from cooking all day and opening presents, or just simply enjoying your weekend before the end of this horrible year. This is what I always wanted, this epilogue. To give you all the reason why I feel Liz should have been turned, too. I hope it meets with your expectations.

Epilogue: Elizabeth 

  


Elizabeth 

  


There were many times in the last hundred years that I marveled at my good fortune. I knew I was going to die when I was laying in the hospital in 1918; but what upset me more was that Edward was going to as well. My dead heart would constrict now and then even thinking about how close we both came to losing each other. There were many things to be thankful for, and Carlisle saving us was most definitely one of them. 

  


My gift had taken me by surprise. When I had first woken up from the burn, I stared into Carlisle’s eyes and saw strands of options. It was almost disorienting, honestly. I could look into someone’s eyes and see branches and emotions tied all together. Some were interesting, in that they had strings that jutted off from whatever choice was made. It was like looking at an intricate spider web. One choice would lead to another, which had another branch. At first it was almost overwhelming. But over the years I learned to scan them carefully without feeling paralyzed by choices. 

  


I knew when I looked at Carlisle that I would love him one day. He was a kind and gentle man, and had chosen to turn us both – regardless of the hardship he would endure by trying to tame two newborn vampires. But when I saw the choice in front of me, I realized there was timing to it. I couldn’t choose now without hurting Edward and that wasn’t a risk I was willing to take. The loss of Edward, Sr. had been too recent; not only would Edward take it horribly, but I simply didn’t feel ready. 

  


Edward, Sr. was a wonderful man. He had treated me with respect and kindness. He provided well for our family, and never had a problem with my stubbornness or insistence on improvements society could make with regard to women’s rights. He simply had loved me and encouraged me to do whatever I felt was right. He loved our son and tried to show him that every day. Losing him had been hard, but then when Edward and I had also gotten sick my whole world had been turned upside down. 

  


Through the first few years with Carlisle, I found it easier to adjust to my new reality than Edward. His mind reading hadn’t helped much; and being able to hear Carlisle’s feelings for me certainly hadn’t made anything any easier. When he and Esme decided to go off on their own, I finally saw the branch that I had been waiting for. I would never forget my husband or his love, but I was ready to move on now. This strand of a choice had always been there, as if all life had a grand plan. Destiny played a part in everything I saw, and I knew that now. 

  


I remember the first moment I knew that I was falling in love with Carlisle. We had been on a simple hunting trip, Edward off with Esme somewhere. We had been searching out a herd of deer and when we came across them, Carlisle immediately went for the buck in the back corner. There were does and babies, and he skimmed over them to head for the male. For a flash of a moment, I saw his compassion for all living things and I fell just a little bit for him. 

  


But I held it all in, carefully watching my thoughts around Edward. I knew it wasn’t time to act yet, so I bided my time waiting for him to make the choice to leave. It was destiny, after all; I knew it would happen eventually. Once he and Esme had made the decision, all new branches of possibilities opened up to them both and I saw so clearly how happy they would both be eventually. Not together, for that wasn’t meant to be, but joined in a different way. I couldn’t tell what or why, but I could clearly see the joyous outcome that would happen for them both. 

  


I clung to that hope after they left. That joy and happiness would find the two that I loved so dearly. Carlisle encouraged me to go to school, which helped me pass the time. But the moment that I made the choice to lead me down the road to him, I was overwhelmed by the future. Love and family; contentment and excitement. I looked into his eyes as I told him I had made my choice, and the love shining out of them eclipsed the sun. He was my bright spot in this new life, and the second the choice was made I knew just how right it was. 

  


We made a lovely life together. Edward and his mood swings always shook us, and I knew how hard Carlisle was taking it. He never expressed anything out loud, but I knew my mate and husband. Edward’s behavior and strict disapproval of him caused Carlisle to feel sad and dejected. For years I played the wife and mother trying to convince them both that they needed to try and bond to become friends. Carlisle was always willing, but said Edward needed to make the choice first. 

  


After a while, I decided that I couldn’t intervene any longer. Once Rose joined our family, there were more important things to manage. She had been raised in a house who didn’t tell her the importance of being kind to others. Rather, she had been told how important it was that she find a rich husband and ensure that her future was solid and stable. There was no love there. She came to us broken physically, but her emotional fractures are what hurt the most. There was a lot I had to do in order to help her. 

  


Esme was a kind soul and never wished harm on anyone. She and I had banded together to help Rose through the worst of the transition, but it had taken years – and Emmett, honestly – for Rose to realize her worth as a person, and that she could make a life for herself. Even if it wasn’t the life she had always thought she wanted. She had been particularly sad about the loss of having children. And while I couldn’t speak on that, since I'd had my child already, Esme could. 

  


“I often feel sad about the loss of my child,” Esme said quietly one night. Rose, Esme and myself were all out hunting, and had stopped to chat far away from where the guys were. Sometimes the private time was the best, so we could get Rose to open up to us. 

  


“You had a child?” Rose asked, staring at Esme in shock. 

  


Esme nodded, her head down. “I had a little boy. He died when he was very little. I hadn’t had him for long at all. I remember how much I loved him, and how perfect he was.” 

  


Rose leaned forward, capturing Esme’s hand. The gesture was small, but powerful. I started to see a change in Rose after that conversation. Understanding what we had all given up seemed to make a difference. 

  


“After my husband passed away, I was terrified of this stupid flu. I was sure that Edward and I were next,” I explained, leaning back against a tree. “I wouldn’t have chosen to live the way we do.” I looked directly into Rose’s eyes. “But I will never be sorry that Carlisle saved me and my Edward. It's not an easy life, Rosie, but it is a life. There are worst things that could have happened. Being angry only gets you so far in life, and it can only hurt you and those around you. Embrace what you have, and what you are.” 

  


It wasn’t an easy road for her, but she made an effort to try. It was really only a few short years before her behavior and attitude had done a total 180. We got along well as a family unit, and it made me happier than anything in the world to see everyone get along. 

  


Through all of it, though, I worried about Edward and Esme. I had Carlisle, Rose had Emmett, and the two of them were always on the outside. They stuck together, and Carlisle often wondered if there was more to their relationship. I knew better, and never questioned them, but I was sad at their loneliness. 

  


The introduction of Alice to our little family had been an absolute breath of fresh air for me. Not only did she walk up and hug me as if we’d known each other for years, but when I looked at her a whole new branch of choices became available to my entire family. The undercurrents of joy and contentment were even more clear now as I smiled down into her beautiful face. She smirked at me, and hugged me a second time. 

  


“As soon as I saw you, I couldn’t wait to meet you,” Alice had said, whispering to me. “We were always meant to work together, weren’t we, Liz?” 

  


I laughed, hugging her tight. “So many possibilities. Tell me about this one?” I chose a strand of choice in my own life, and her eyes glazed over for a moment. After a few minutes, she came out of it and laughed at me. 

  


“Only if you want to cause a fight, Liz!” 

  


Edward laughed, having watched the whole thing take place. “You two are going to be trouble. I can tell.” 

  


“What did you see, Ali?” Jasper asked, his mouth curling into a smirk. 

  


“Liz was contemplating pushing Emmett into the lake, and I saw that if she did that, he would pick her up and toss her in as well. Then, eventually, all of us would get tossed in.” Alice laughed as Emmett glanced around. 

  


“We doing this? Who’s for a midnight swim?” He rubbed his hands together. “Which one of you is first?” 

  


“Emmett, it’s 3 in the afternoon. We can’t do a midnight swim in the afternoon.” Edward’s smile had not faded as he looked around at all of us. 

  


Emmett, the good-natured goof that he was, shrugged and grabbed me, throwing me into the water. I knew he would, so I wasn’t surprised in the least. Soon, as Alice had predicted, we all ended up in the water, splashing each other and exploring the bottom of the massive lake. We all emerged sometime later with smiles on our faces; our family had grown, and we were all happy. 

  


Alice and Edward started to become closer; their gifts working with each other quite well. But still, there was something missing in his life. Alice and I would often go off on our own to discuss, and I would make decisions and she would see the outcome. Nothing was quite right, so we stuck to the path of least resistance as we navigated through to the end of the century. But everything changed when Alice had her first vision of Bella. 

  


“Liz, let’s go for a run,” Alice said, grabbing me by the arm. I had been reading a new novel in the living room, Edward playing his piano and Carlisle leaning against the wall just listening. My eyes came up to hers and they looked almost frantic. 

  


“What was that, Alice?” Edward asked, turning away from the piano. “It was a flash of someone, then it turned into images of a meadow?” 

  


“Nothing. I just need to talk to Liz about it.” 

  


We rushed off, Carlisle and Edward staring after us. We got as far away as we could, to ensure no one would over hear us, before Alice gave me the news I'd been waiting a century to hear. 

  


“Edward’s mate is moving to Forks.” 

  


I grabbed onto the branches and started shifting through them, as though they were a magazine. There were many options available to him, and not all of them led to his happiness. But one rather obvious choice had the most beautiful outcome I almost wept in relief. And it centered around both him and Esme. They would both find happiness. 

  


Alice’s concern was focused on his thirst for her, but we sat down and worked out a way to help him. Bella had to be left alive, because the ending for the two was too amazing to pass by. I remember how happy she and I both felt as we shifted through her visions. It was all we could do to contain our excitement when we got back to the house. 

  


And then, like a truck hitting us, the realization of Esme and Charlie came. Just after Edward made a decision to get to know Bella, we figured out this would happen. Edward, ever the protective big brother, had mixed emotions, but Alice and I had just wanted Esme happy. This is what I had seen for them so long ago. 

  


When I saw them together, I knew that Charlie would end up one of us. Edward’s shout of “No” still resonated in my ears sometimes; like there had been some way to avoid it. Unfortunately, if Esme was to be happy with this man, that’s what needed to happen. Especially considering I knew that Bella would change one day as well. He was so rigid in his denial of the only outcome Alice and I could see it was laughable. As if he could bet against us! We told him that daily, yet for some reason he was still set against her being like us. Charlie hadn’t had a choice, but Bella did. He didn’t understand how it felt to lose your child, or almost lose them, when there was something you could do about it. I didn’t want that for Charlie. Bella being human meant that she was in danger every minute. 

  


James and Victoria had been a surprise as well. When they showed up, smelling all the humans in the area, and pretended to be oh so nice. As soon as I looked into James’ eyes, I saw the only branch available to him. He wanted a chase. A hunt. And there was something about Edward and Bella running to keep her safe that appealed to him. It made no sense to any of us, but it was the only branch he had. The only option we had was to eliminate him. I could see it so clearly, we had to make that choice. No one was happy about a preemptive kill, but my mind just focused on the only thing I could. He would kill Bella, not turn her, just for the sport of it. 

  


The newborns...now that was a surprise. Victoria would run, all of her branches had something to do with escape, fleeing. So, I knew that’s what she would do. I hadn’t any idea that she would come back with an army. Carlisle had to calm me down when that was first seen by Alice. I thought I had forced everyone into the wrong choice, but it turned out to be what we had to do. 

  


Obviously, I hadn’t counted on the newborns or the Volturi. I knew there would be a minor strand of loss, but it wasn’t close to us so I couldn’t focus on it. The outcome of the battles were way more important in my mind. I had to compartmentalize; minor loss compared to the two I loved, and who had been alone the longest, finding the lives they always wanted. 

  


As I stood there, watching Bella and Esme walk down the aisle toward their chosen mates, I knew for sure that I would be crying if I could. Alice came up beside me, hugging me tightly. I knew she felt the same way. For years, she and I had wanted this for Edward and Esme. And now they had it: everything they ever wanted. 

  


My eyes sought out Carlisle, standing as best man next to Edward, between Emmett and Jasper; Charlie standing next to Edward. His eyes found mine as well, and he smiled at me. I felt my heart swell in love. 

  


This is the life we had all wanted. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that’s it folks! Thank you again to all of you for reading my story. I appreciate you all so very much! I really loved writing this story, and am so glad you stuck with me till the end. 
> 
> I am posting the last chapter of Consuming Love today also. So, both stories are ending right now, which is super sad. But, never fear. I have a new one being prepped. May be a little bit before I start posting it, as I only wrote one chapter so far. Still Bella and Edward, but not a vamp story. Just something I thought would be a lot of fun. Follow me as an author to get notified of when that starts! 
> 
> Thanks again to my sister and my beta zombified419 for prereading. I appreciate you both! 
> 
> Happy new year, my friends! Look for more stuff from me in the new year!

**Author's Note:**

> Just a start, but what do you think? I thought it would be great to explore how different the Cullen's were if Elizabeth were there. 
> 
> Ok, addressing the elephant in the room here. Yes, this story does include Esme but she and Carlisle are not together. If this bothers you, probably best to stop here. This is a key difference in my story.


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